A Mutant's Revenge
by ShadowKitsune77
Summary: An AU fic about what would happen if Zack had survived. After being saved from a grizzly fate, he was captured by the Shinra and endured further experiments at the hands of Hojo which scared him for life.
1. The Beginning of a Nightmare

**Chapter 1: The Beginning of a Nightmare **

**I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters and contents, they belong to Square Enix. Because some parts of this story can get violent and sometimes gory, it will have an M rating. And no I'm not going to turn it into a porn story so don't ask me to.**

It was a dark stormy night in the city of Midgar and heavy rain pelted from the sky and landed with loud plopping sounds on the ground. The low rumbling sound of thunder could be heard in the distance and lightning crackled in the polluted sky. The streets were deathly silent as no one in their right minds would want to stay out on a night like this. In fact the only sound that could be heard was the sound of footsteps going thud on the ground with each step and the sound of splashing as boot clad feet landed in puddles as someone walked through the Sector 5 slums.

The mysterious figure continued walking down one street of the slums and he looked all around him. The mysterious figure wore a black, lose fitting trench coat and he wore a hood over his face completely covering his eyes, but a strange yellow glow could be seen emitting from the hood, the stranger also wore black gloves and black boots. As he turned the corner to walk down another street he couldn't help but feel that the slums somehow looked familiar to him that maybe he had been here before.

"What a dump," he whispered to himself as he continued walking through the slums, still looking at the derelict houses that were all around him, "who in their right mind would want to live in a place like this?" It was at that moment that he remembered that someone he knew did live there, he realised where he was and he stopped suddenly as he stared at the house in front of him.

Unlike all the other houses in the slums that looked run down and dirty, this house looked almost brand new and was very neat and tidy. After looking at the house he remembered that she lived there, the most beautiful girl he had ever laid his eyes on lived in the very house he was standing in front of now. He continued to stare at the house and memories of happier times flooded into his mind.

"_Hey! How about you just go out with me once, one date, what do ya say?"_

"_Ha, you're so lame!"_

"_Do you really have to leave?"_

"_I know it'll be tough, but it's my job."_

"_I know it's your job, but I can't help but worry about you."_

"_Hey, don't sweat it, I'll be back in one piece."_

"_Just promise me you'll come back."_

"_Oh come on babe."_

"_Just promise me!"_

"_Ok, ok, I promise."_

"I promise," the man muttered as he repeated the last words he heard in his memories and tears welled in his eyes as he remembered a promise long broken. "I know I'm a little late, but I kept my promise." He slowly walked up the path to the door, _"I hope she still remembers me," _the man thought to himself as he reached his hand out to knock on the door but he hesitated. _"Wait," _a more realistic thought crept into his mind. _"I can't…I can't let her see me like this. She'll die of fright if she sees me now." _

He slowly drew his hand back and placed both his hands into his coat pockets before he walked away from the door, he walked further up the path and entered the garden. It was such a peaceful place even in horrible weather like this and the hooded stranger felt safe here from the dangerous world outside, because he knew that a special girl lived there and as long as she was around he always felt safe.

He could just about make out the outlines of flowers in the garden. Flowers never normally grew in Midgar and he had to admit that the first time he saw the flowers he was amazed at how something so beautiful and pure could grow in a polluted place like Midgar.

It was because of her, she had grown them, the man had always known that she had a magical touch and that night was no different as he reached for a rose and he gently stroked its petals with a gloved hand. The petals were soft, just like her skin.

He turned his head to the house and he looked up at the second floor window, that window was where her room was, he remembered the layout of the house like the back of his hand considering he had been in there…well he had lost count of the number of times he had entered the house and he soon found himself becoming lost in his thoughts and his memories again.

He was soon dragged out of his thoughts again when he heard the sound of light switches being flicked on and someone rushing down the stairs. Panicking the man started pacing round in circles trying to find somewhere to hide. He could hear the sound of the front door being opened and a young woman, with light brown hair, green eyes and wearing a pink nightgown was stood on the doorstep looking out but she didn't see anyone there.

"Strange," she said to herself, she had a puzzled expression on her face, "I'm sure I heard something, maybe it was coming from the garden."

"_Shit!" _The man panicked in his head, _"I gotta hide." _He heard the sound of footsteps as the young woman walked up the path coming ever so closer to the garden, he could hear the loud creak as the woman had opened the gate, she crept slowly into the garden hoping to catch the intruder, whoever they were off guard. She crept round the corner and looked into the garden but she didn't see anything there.

"Maybe it was just a cat or something," the woman said to herself, "maybe I was just imagining it, I better get back inside, mother would kill me if she found out I was out here in the rain." The woman turned round and walked out of the garden and she re-entered the house. The hooded man was now sat on the roof breathing heavily he listened to the sound of a door shutting and the clicking of a light switch being turned off and all was silent again except for the rain drops outside.

"_Phew," _the man sighed quietly in relief, _"that was close, I guess there was a time where I would've just knocked on the door and she would've welcomed me with open arms, but circumstances have changed, I've changed and she probably has as well." _

He leapt off the roof and he landed gracefully and soundlessly on his feet, he walked slowly back down the path and he was back in the main slums again. He walked down an alley to where an old pipe was, he heard soft moaning coming from it and his heart sank. He knew that a man who was extremely sick had made his home there, having heard his moaning when he arrived in Sector 5 earlier and he wished that he could remove the man's pain and suffering but he couldn't, he wasn't a doctor, besides he had his own problems to worry about like getting his life back on track.

He turned away from the pipe leaving the man with his pain and he walked down another street when he saw something that almost made him gasp.

"_Shit!" _He thought to himself as he saw a group of men in blue uniforms that looked all too familiar to him, _"Shinra guards," _he crept into the shadows and hid while he watched the men closely and listened in on their conversation.

"Do you think he's around here?" One of the Shinra guards asked his comrades.

"You heard Tseng," a second guard spoke up, "he can't have gone far."

"But Midgar's a huge place!" A third guard complained loudly, "he could be anywhere and I thought that this was the Turk's assignment."

"It is," another voice spoke up and a man with green eyes, long red hair that was tied back in a ponytail, his uniform was haphazard with his shirt hanging out, but nevertheless he meant business. "This individual is highly dangerous so you guys had better watch your backs."

"We know the drill Reno!" The guard who had first spoken yelled at the Turk.

"Hey!" Reno snapped back, "if you guys had have done your jobs he wouldn't have escaped and once again the Turks have to clean up your mess!"

"We didn't ask you to!" The guard retorted, he was about to say more but Reno held up his hand to silence him.

"Just shut your traps!" Reno ordered and the guards immediately snapped to attention. "The resources of the Turks is overstretched as it is! We're severely understaffed since Cissnei and the other Turks left!" Reno sighed sadly as he thought about his friend and what had happened to her. _"Cissnei..."_ Reno thought to himself, _"why did you leave..." _

Reno snapped out of his thoughts as he realised the guards were still staring at him. "Get back to work!" He barked at them, "we have a fugitive to bring to justice!"

"Yes Reno!" The men yelled and they ran off in separate directions, Reno stood there for a moment or two shaking his head at the bumbling idiots he had to work with before he too left the alley. Sensing that it was safe the hooded man came out of the shadows.

"Typical," he muttered sarcastically to himself, "I've only been out for a week and they're already on my tail, I guess this isn't the first time SOLDIER and the Turks were on my case." He closed his eyes as memories flooded his mind again.

(Flashback)

_It had been almost a whole year since the two fugitives had escaped from the lab in Nibelheim and since then they had many close encounters as far as SOLDIER were concerned. Nevertheless the two men had managed to make their way to the Eastern Continent and were currently hitching a ride on the back of a pickup truck across the plains. _

_The first of the two men was a tall, well built man in his early 20s. He had bright blue eyes that glowed vividly, especially in the afternoon sun, he had long, wild spiky hair that was as black as night and he was a wearing dark blue SOLDIER uniform, that and the large, oversized sword on his back was undeniable proof that he was once a member of SOLDIER First Class. Despite the current situation that he found himself in he still had the same inane grin on his face like he was just on a road trip, he went by the name of Zack._

_The other man was something different altogether, he was slightly smaller than Zack but he was just as well built. He too was in his early 20s, he had short, spiky, unruly blond hair and light blue eyes that also had a strange glow to them. He was also wearing SOLDIER garments, this young man was called Cloud and unfortunately he didn't share the same enthusiasm as Zack did. In fact Cloud was barely responding at all, he was sat with his back leaning against the side of the truck, his face looked deathly pale and his head lolled heavily to the side completely oblivious to his surroundings._

"_Hey Cloud?" Zack asked out of concern for his friend. "Are you doing ok?" _

"…_urrrrr…" Cloud mumbled under his breath as he slowly lifted his head up to look at Zack._

"_Don't worry Cloud," Zack said encouragingly, "as soon as we get to Midgar, I'm gonna get you to a doctor and you'll be back to your old self again in no time. Speaking of which," Zack stood up, he walked over to the small window at the back of the driver's cab and tapped his knuckles on it. "Hey old guy, are we near Midgar yet?"_

"_Just sit down and shut up!" The driver yelled without turning round, "you're lucky I'm even giving you a ride!"_

"_Yeah, yeah," Zack muttered to himself as he walked back over to where Cloud was and sat down opposite him, but with Zack being in a hyper mood he couldn't stay still and it wasn't long before he started pacing round again. _

_"So what are you gonna do once we get to Midgar?" Zack asked Cloud, Cloud stared at Zack but he didn't say a word so Zack continued. "I know what I'm gonna do, I have a place I can crash for a while until I can get back on my feet." He thought about the idea for a while and then he tossed it to the side. _

_"No wait, the mother still lives there, I guess that's out, yep, I guess this means I've gotta change my plans. Either way I need money and I need a job to get money, hey Cloud what do you think I should do?" Cloud nodded his head up down but he still didn't say a word, Zack walked back over to the window again and tapped on it. "Hey old guy! Do you think there's anything I'm good at?"_

"_What the hell are you on about now?" The driver yelled again, becoming increasingly annoyed at Zack's constant chatter, "you're still young ain't ya? You should do everything while you're still young!"_

"_You should do everything while you're still young," Zack repeated in a mocking tone, "yeah, that's easy for him to say, what kind of jobs are there for someone like…" Zack's grin widened as he suddenly got an idea and dollar signs flashed in his eyes. "That's it!" He exclaimed hardly able to contain his excitement, "I have a brain and skills that others don't, I'm gonna become a mercenary! Yeah, thanks pops!"_

"_Wait!" The driver yelled, "you completely…"_

"_Hey!" Zack cut the driver off, "I'm gonna become a mercenary and that's that!" Zack paced up and down the back of the truck again. "Boring stuff, dangerous stuff, anything for money, I'm gonna be rich!" He then turned to face Cloud, "So what are you gonna do?"_

"…_urrrrr…aaaahhhh…" Cloud muttered weakly._

_Zack laughed, "hey relax Cloud!" He replied reassuringly, "there's no way I'm gonna leave you hanging like that!" He walked back over to Cloud and sat down next to him. "Hey, we're friends, right?" Zack asked Cloud, again Cloud didn't respond, but Zack wasn't fazed, in fact he never really expected a response from Cloud these days. "Mercenaries Cloud, that's what we're gonna be."_

_About a quarter of an hour later and Zack and Cloud were on foot again, the driver had agreed to drop them off as far as Kalm and then he decided to turn back. Zack ran behind some rocks holding Cloud just as he heard a helicopter flying over head. "Looks like the Turks are on the lookout for us," Zack stated as he smiled at Cloud and ruffled the young man's hair. "You stay here Cloud, I'm gonna go a little further and find a way to Midgar." Zack smiled at Cloud as he turned round and walked off just as Cloud reached his hand out to Zack as if begging him to stay._

_Zack walked up the hill over looking Midgar only to be greeted by the sound of guns cocking as several hundred infantry men wielding shotguns, machine guns, rapiers and missile launchers were pointed at him. Nevertheless Zack wasn't fazed, he shook his head. "Man oh man, the price of freedom is steep..." He stated as he shook his head, Zack sighed as he slowly removed the Buster Sword from his back and held it out in front of him before bowing his head, his forehead touched the blade of the sword. _

_"Embrace your dreams..." Zack recited the the chant that his mentor always used to say. "And no matter what happens never forget your honour...as SOLDIER!" Zack yelled this last part as he opened his eyes and swung his sword to the side as he charged at the infantry men. "WELCOME!" Several of the machine gun infantry men opened fire at Zack, but the ex-SOLDIER quickly darted left and right dodging the bullets and with several quick movements Zack slashed the infantry men causing them to slump to the ground lifeless._

_He looked down at the bodies and shook his head at them, "humph, amateurs…" he muttered to himself as he quickly leapt to the side as several shotgun pelets were fired at him. Zack spun his sword round deflecting the bullets causing the men to be killed by their own pelets. "Man, these guys don't quit," Zack said to himself, "Maybe I should let them know what happens if they mess with me!" Zack darted forwards at another shotgun wielding infantryman and before the man could react Zack cut the gun cleanly in half with his sword before stabbing him in the stomach._

_Zack removed his sword from the body and then ducked as he noticed a rapier being swung at him, a rapier which surely would've sliced his head off if he hadn't of ducked in time. He dropped his sword to the ground and he reached out, grabbed the man's hand round the wrist and squeezed it tightly causing the soldier to cry out in pain and drop his weapon. _

_Zack then stood back up again, twisted the man's arm round causing him even more pain, then with his other hand Zack grabbed the man's neck and snapped it, grinning Zack released the man and he slumped to the ground lifeless. Zack then grabbed his sword again spun round and held his sword out in front of him to deflect more incoming bullets. Zack held his sword in the air as it began to pulsate with energy, he then brought his sword down and the energy was released in the form of a beam which zoomed towards the incoming soldiers blowing them sky high. _

_Zack looked behind him and he saw that the soldiers he had knocked down before were getting to their feet. With a few swift movements Zack struck them down with his sword and he was soon surrounded by the bodies of all the soldiers he had slain. _

_Zack dropped his arms to his sides and panted heavily as exhaustion started to take over and for the first time the Buster Sword felt heavy as Zack was now holding it with both hands and it was closer to the ground. Zack heard footsteps as several more infantrymen arrived cocking their machine guns. _

_"I can't keep this up..." Zack muttered to himself as he breathed heavily. Nevertheless his survival instincts were still there and as the infantrymen opened fire Zack tried to dodge out of the way but due to his exhaustion his reactions had slowed down and one of the bullets hit him on his shoulder. Zack yelled in pain as he looked down at his shoulder to find that it was bleeding. _

_Zack looked back up at the infantrymen and tried to strike them down but he no longer had the strength. He cried out in pain again as more bullets pierced his body, he was knocked back upon impact and his sword was knocked out of his hand as he fell to the ground a few feet away from Cloud, his wounds were bleeding profusely. _

_Zack panicked as he saw the soldiers approach ever so closer to him, he looked to his left and he saw his sword lying on the ground a couple of feet away from him. He tried to reach out for his sword but he was too weak to even move, he slowly rolled his eyes upwards to see three soldiers standing over him holding submachine guns and riddling his body with bullets, Zack stared blankly into the distance and saw Cloud still lying there completely helpless. _

_"Cloud," Zack thought sadly in his head, "I'm sorry, I failed you," his thoughts then changed to someone else that was important to him. "Aerith, please forgive me, I broke my promise…" Zack's thoughts trailed off as he felt the barrel of a gun on his temple, his eyes rolled sideways to see a shotgun barrel pointed at his head. His eyes followed the gun upwards and he saw a soldier grinning at him._

"_Say goodnight," the soldier whispered evilly._

"_This is it," Zack thought to himself, "I'm gonna die, I wonder if it's true what they say, that you're whole life flashes before your eyes…I'm sorry Cloud…Aerith, I couldn't keep my promises…please forgive me…" Zack closed his eyes and he waited for the final gunshot that would end his life, realising that that gunshot would be the final thing he hears. "Is it over?" He found himself asking the same question over and over again. "Is this what dying feels like? I thought it would have been more painful than that…" For a while all was silent and Zack wasn't even sure if he was dead or alive, then he heard, or at least he thought he heard someone shout._

"_Hey! Stop that at once!" Zack opened one eye to find that he was still lying on the hill overlooking Midgar, he could no longer feel the gun on his temple, but he was still wounded badly and his vision was slowly blurring but he could make out a man with long, black hair wearing a blue suit standing in between him and the soldiers. Zack recognised the man instantly as Tseng, the leader of the Turks and Zack wasn't sure whether this was a blessing or a curse but at that moment in time he didn't really care and he could barely make out what was being said._

"_You were ordered to wait for the Turks!" Tseng yelled at the soldiers._

"_And let the Turks take all the credit!" A soldier yelled back._

_Tseng glared at the man and he shut up instantly, he knew what Tseng was capable of and that he wasn't a man to cross. "Our orders were to seek and capture the fugitives, not kill them!" Tseng ordered the soldiers. "Now hold up your weapons!" The three soldiers immediately obeyed Tseng, satisfied Tseng turned his attentions to Zack, he knelt down beside the dying SOLDIER and he held out a piece of green materia, Tseng closed his eyes and focused. _

_"Cure," he whispered softly as a bright green light criss-crossed in Zack's wounds and when the light disappeared the wounds stopped bleeding but they didn't completely heal. Satisfied that Zack was no longer in any danger of bleeding to death he took out a first aid kit and began to bandage up Zack's wounds, when he had finished Tseng stood up and turned to face one of the soldiers. "Pick him up," Tseng ordered, "and take him back to HQ, he may come in useful, I just hope that he'll co-operate for his own good."_

"_Yes sir," the soldier said as he walked over to Zack grabbed hold of his arms, dragged him up from the floor and slung him over his shoulder, Zack grunted in pain as he felt himself being half dragged and half carried as he began to lose consciousness. He slowly lifted his head up and looked behind him to see the other two soldiers approach Cloud and poke him with the barrel of their guns. Zack's heart sank when he saw this, they were going to kill Cloud and he was too weak to stop them._

"_So what do you think we should do with him?" The soldier asked as he continued to prod Cloud with the end of his gun._

"…_urrrrr…aaaahhhhh…" Cloud muttered under his breath as he gazed at the soldiers completely unaware of what was going on around him._

"_Leave him!" Tseng yelled at the soldiers telling them to come away, the two soldiers obeyed and they took their weapons away from Cloud and they walked away from the sick man._

"_Yeah," the second soldier agreed, "he's as good as dead anyway, besides we got the stronger one anyway."_

_Zack turned away from Cloud not wanting to see that blank stare anymore as guilt weighed down on his heart. He felt a single teardrop fall slowly out his eye and trail down his face and it landed with a soft plop on the ground as he finally lost consciousness._

(A day later)

_Beep, beep, beep…_

"_Huh? Where am I?" Zack wasn't sure if he was awake or asleep, in fact he wasn't even sure if he had said those words out loud. He could hear the sound of beeping, at first it sounded faint but it gradually grew louder as his senses started to come back to him. He could hear his own raspy breathing against the beeping, he gradually opened his eyes and he had to squint as he was greeted by a bright, white glare. _

_"Am I really dead? Because if this is what death is like then I want out!" Zack tried to move and he winced in pain, that was immediately followed by a different kind of pain altogether, it wasn't a sharp pain he felt when he was shot repeatedly, but it was a numbing pain as he felt something being stuck into him. The white haze slowly cleared and he found himself in a clean and highly clinical environment, a hospital, or a lab maybe. He looked down and found countless wires sticking into him, Zack tugged at one of the wires but it wouldn't move so he followed the wires with his slowly returning vision and he found that the wires connected him to a strange looking machine that must've been monitoring his heartbeat. _

_"I guess that could explain the beeping sound," Zack thought to himself, he moved his hand up to his face and he could feel something over his nose and mouth, it only took him a few seconds to realise that it was an oxygen mask, he tried to remove it but he was just too weak at the moment, so he lowered his arms and he let himself succumb to the waves of unconsciousness that had once again caught him._

_Two hours later and Zack started to come round again, he was vaguely aware of voices all around him, but he could barely make out what they were saying._

"_Hmmm…this is interesting, it would seem that his body is coming back online again, even after being completely out of it the day before." A male voice said in a dim voice._

"_Huh?" Zack thought to himself, were they talking about him?_

"_I heard that he was awake earlier," a female voice spoke up this time, "but by the time I got there to check up on him he was asleep again."_

"_Yeah," another male voice responded, "for what Hojo has in store for him, I almost feel sorry for the guy…almost." Zack could hear the sound of laughter all around him as his eyes began to flicker._

"_Hojo…" Thoughts started to fill his head again, "where have I heard that name before?" Memories started to flood his brain and it was at that moment that he realised where he was, "no…it can't be…I can't be there…what's going on? NO!" Zack found himself saying the last word out loud, his eyes fluttered open as he saw half a dozen people wearing white coats staring at him. To Zack seeing those people in the white coats only meant more pain and torture. "No!" He found himself yelling again as he thrashed around frantically removing the wires from his body. The scientists saw this and they began to panic._

"_Restrain him! Before he hurts himself and damages the equipment!" One of them yelled as two of the strongest lab technicians ran over to Zack and tried to pin him down. But Zack was too strong for them and with a sudden burst of strength he grabbed one of the technicians by the throat and threw him back causing him to land back first into the far wall, he slid down the wall dazed. He quickly grabbed the other one before they had a chance to back away and he flung him into the group of scientists knocking them all over at once. _

_Zack ripped the last of the wires from his body, leapt out of the bed, tore the O2 mask from his face and tried to make a run for it. He didn't get very far before he began to collapse in pain, his legs buckled underneath him and he sagged to his knees with his hand tightly clasped round his stomach, his breathing became laboured and his body shook violently, he realised that he was completely topless but at that moment he didn't really care, all he cared about was getting out of there but his body didn't want to obey him._

_The technicians began to recover and they staggered to their feet, one of them noticed Zack kneeling on the floor looking pale, sick and scared. "Get backup!" The lead technician yelled as one of the female technicians ran to the emergency alarm button and pushed it. The shrill sound of the alarm could be heard and it made Zack panic even more as he knew what was coming next. _

_A dozen or so first class SOLDIERS ran into the room, Zack slowly staggered to his feet and got into a fighting stance, but the other SOLDIERS knew that he was too weak to fight them off. They grabbed hold of him and wrestled him to the ground, they dragged him up to his knees and his breathing became quicker as he panicked even more._

"_Put the O2 mask back on him!" Another technician yelled, as one of the SOLDIERS grabbed the O2 mask lying on the floor and he forced it back on to Zack's face. Zack's breathing became less laboured but he was still breathing rapidly, he tried to struggle to get the SOLDIERS off him but he was still too weak._

"_What's going on here?" An all too familiar voice rang in Zack's ears, a voice that sent a shiver down Zack's spine whenever he heard it. Zack felt himself mentally panicking as he knew who was coming. _

"_No…" Zack thought to himself, "no…anything but that…" Zack closed his eyes at a last ditch attempt of denial but he knew that denial wouldn't help in this situation. He opened his eyes and looked upwards as he saw his worst nightmare stood in front of him, the man that had caused him so much pain and anguish, the man that was responsible for Sephiroth going insane. _

"_Hmmm…" Hojo stated in his high pitched voice, "so you're awake, now the experiments can begin."_

_Zack's eyes grew wide with shock as Hojo produced a syringe with a strange green liquid that looked all too familiar to Zack. "Is that what I think it is?" Zack asked himself even though he half knew the answer and it filled him with dread knowing that Hojo was finishing off what he started._

"_Don't worry, this won't hurt…much, ha, ha, ha!" Hojo cackled as he paced towards Zack grinning evilly and holding the syringe out in front of him. Before Zack knew what was happening Hojo stabbed the needle into his neck. Zack winced in pain but he didn't cry out, he didn't want to give Hojo the satisfaction. _

_After a minute Hojo removed the syringe from Zack's neck, he wiped it clean with a cloth and put it back into his pocket. He then withdrew another syringe from his other pocket with a colourless liquid in it and he jabbed it into the other side of Zack's neck. He let out a small yelp as the liquid entered his blood stream and travelled round his body, it didn't take long for waves of unconsciousness to claim him once again. He took one last look at Hojo's evil grinning face before he fell asleep._

(End Flashback)

Everything after that last part was a complete blur to Zack as he finally came to his senses again and decided that it was time to move on before Reno and his Shinra guard lackeys came back. All Zack knew was that Hojo injected him with a green substance that looked strangely like Mako but at the same time it wasn't pure Mako, but neither was it Jenova cells.

"It was something else," Zack muttered to himself as he walked down the street. "What it was I don't know, but it sure did make me feel strange afterwards." Zack instinctively reached his hand to his neck and he could feel a small puncture wound from the last injection he had endured, he then looked at his gloved hands but he didn't remove the gloves, in fact he hadn't removed his gloves since he had escaped from the lab in Shinra HQ.

"How I managed to escape was beyond me," Zack said quietly to himself relieved that he was able to get out of there, but the damage was already done and Zack was the one that had to live with it for the rest of his life. He sometimes wished that he had died that day if this was the fate he had to endure.

Zack turned the corner and walked down another street, he passed several more derelict houses before he came across another building that looked familiar to him. "Aerith's church," Zack spoke up his voice was filled with hope, he knew that anyplace that was associated with Aerith was safe.

He pushed the door and it opened with a loud creak, he walked slowly up the isle between the pews until he came upon the flower bed. Zack stood at the edge of the flower bed but he was careful not to tread on them, he knew that Aerith hated it when people stepped on her flowers. She yelled at him on more than one occasion for doing that, Zack soon snapped out of his memories when he felt a raindrop hit him on the hood. He looked up and he saw a large hole in the church roof.

"I knew I was meant to fix something," Zack stated with a sigh as another raindrop hit him on the head. "The hole looks a little bigger than I remember, did someone else fall through it not so long ago?" Zack sat down next to the flowers and he reflected on everything that had happened to him in the past five years and each memory made him feel more and more unnerved as he knew that Shinra were still after him and it was only a matter of time before they caught him and he knew that his nightmare was far from over, in fact it was just beginning. Zack found himself thinking about Cloud and he wondered if he actually survived.

"I hope he's ok," Zack whispered to himself as he found himself thinking about Cloud once more. "He was pretty sick...what if he died or...the Shinra changed their minds about him...no...Cloud's stronger than that...he's...free...I can feel it..." Zack nodded satisfied with his own reassurance.

"My sword...what happened to that..." Zack asked himself concerned about the mighty Buster Sword. "Angeal gave me that sword...it meant everything to him...a symbol of his honour and dreams...he gave it to me and I can't believe I lost it!" Zack yelled this last part as he punched the floor with his fist. Zack breathed in and out deeply as he tried to calm himself.

_"You know...I've never actually seen you use that..."_

_"Use brings about wear, tear and rust...and that's a real waste."_

_"I thought use brought about wear, tear and rust..."_

_"You're more important than this sword, but just a little."_

Laughter echoed in Zack's head and he smiled as he thought about his mentor before he yawned, it had been a trying week for him and he really needed to get some sleep. He slowly stood up and walked up to the pew that was nearest to the flower bed, he lay down on it, it wasn't very comfortable but at least it was better than sleeping on the streets.

He knew that he was only staying in the church for one night, as tomorrow he was going to try and get his life back on track, even if it killed him. He wasn't going to let his handicap take over his life, but at the same time he was afraid, what if Aerith saw him and she was horrified at what she saw? He wouldn't be surprised if she did, after all he was surprised himself when he first saw what Hojo did to him and he had hidden himself away ever since.

He only came out at night and took whatever he needed, if he did go out in the day he generally avoided busy areas and he never showed his face to anyone. Zack sighed sadly as he thought about how dramatically his life had changed, he placed his hands behind his head and he began to think about what might have been if he was able to return when he said that he would.

"_Well I probably wouldn't be here in this church, hiding myself away and thinking about what might have been," _Zack thought to himself. _"But if I'm to stand any hope of getting my life back to as normal a state as possible then I can't keep hiding away, I have to see Aerith again, and I'm gonna see her first thing tomorrow morning, no matter what happens." _Zack felt better now that he had a plan in mind, it gave him a sense of purpose, it made him feel like he was still human. But even as Zack closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep he knew that his nightmare had just begun.

**The first chapter of my second story is complete, yes I know that this is a what if Zack survived story, but there's plenty of them around, but I don't really care. After watching Last Order, I saw that the reason why Zack was killed was because the soldiers pursuing him refused to wait for the Turks and wanted the glory for taking Zack out themselves. So I thought what if the Turks or more specifically Tseng intervened to save Zack's life. Please feel free to comment, as long as it's constructive. Chapter 2 will be coming up soon.**


	2. The Fate of Sector Seven

**Chapter 2: The Fate of Sector Seven**

"_No…please…no more…I can't take much more!"_

"_Give him another injection!"_

"_You bastard! Leave me alone!"_

"_What the…what's happening to me? What's going on? !"_

"Aaaahhhh!" Zack woke up with a start, he quickly sat up and he looked around him frantically as he breathed rapidly. He was relieved to find himself in the church, alone, but safe. "It was…just a nightmare," he whispered to himself as he started to calm down, "I've lost count of how many nightmares I've had since I escaped." Zack rarely got any sleep these days since he had escaped from Hojo's clutches for the second time and he still wasn't sure how he managed it. All he knew was that he never in a million years wanted to go back there again. Since he had escaped, Zack was constantly on the move, travelling from sector to sector hoping to give the Shinra the slip but seeing them in sector 5 the night before made him think otherwise. He had hoped to see Aerith again but when he got to her house he got cold feet.

"But I'm not gonna be afraid anymore," Zack said to himself as he slowly stood up and walked over to the flowers, he saw a small ray of sunlight shine through the hole in the roof and Zack couldn't help but smile under his hood. Midgar very rarely got sunshine especially with the upper plate blocking the sun and it was a welcoming sight for Zack. "She's the reason I came back to Midgar in the first place, I have to see her again, no holding back this time."

"Hey mister!" Zack turned round quickly to see two children a boy and a girl stood there staring at him, it was the girl who had spoken.

"Sorry," Zack muttered his apology, he took a good look at the kids, they were cute, he had to give them that and they reminded him of his childhood when his life was a lot simpler and he wasn't constantly on the run. Young children were so naïve and friendly, and it was the friendliness of those kids that not only shocked him, he couldn't remember the last time anyone was friendly towards him. It also gave him a warm feeling inside, a feeling he rarely got these days. "I was just admiring the flowers," he explained to them.

"Yeah," the boy replied as he and the girl ran passed Zack and started to play with the flowers. "They're purrty, aren't they?" The boy asked as both the kids stared intently at Zack.

Zack nodded, "yeah, you bet," he agreed, he knew that it was Aerith that had grown the flowers. He remembered when he saw them for the first time, how shocked he was.

* * *

(Flashback)

_"Hell-oo..." A sweet female voice echoed as Zack started to move slightly, "hurray!" The same voice yelled cheerfully as Zack started to come round and he opened his eyes to see a beautiful young woman with long brown hair and green eyes which seemed to glow softly._

_"Heaven..." Zack muttered as he moaned._

_The woman stared at him for a moment before shaking her head, "not quite, this is a church in the slums," the woman explained as Zack slowly sat up and looked at her and he couldn't help but admire her beauty._

_"An angel?" Zack questioned as he continued to stare at the woman._

_The woman shook her head but she couldn't help but smile at Zack. "No, I'm Aerith," she introduced herself to Zack before she turned around and pointed at the ceiling. "You fell from the sky," Aerith told Zack as he looked in the direction that she was pointing in. "It really scared me."_

_"So you saved me, huh?" Zack asked._

_"Not really Aerith answered as she turned away from him and held her hands behind her back."Hell-oo,that's all I did," Aerith recited what she did to wake Zack up as he laughed._

_Aerith turned back round and stared at Zack as he lifted his legs up and placed all of his weight on to his shoulders before flipping on to his feet and standing up. "Thank you so much Aerith," Zack replied gratefully as he smiled at her. "I'm Zack," he told Aerith his name before folding his arms. "I have to repay you somehow."_

_"Don't worry about it," Aerith responded politely as she shook her head._

_"No, no," Zack replied as he paced round determined to think of a way to repay Aerith back for her kindness. "Hmmm..." Zack mused as he finally thought of something, he snapped his fingers and turned round to face Aerith. "Hey, how about, one date?" Zack asked as he waited for Aerith to respond._

_Aerith was silent for a moment before she placed her arms behind her back, "what is that?" she asked as she swung her arms forwards, "don't so silly..."_

_"But..." Zack started to protest but he realised that there was no point and he gave sighing sadly and hanging his head. After a minute he raised his head again and walked passed Aerith._

_"Stop!"Aerith yelled suddenly causing Zack to stop, he looked down and saw that his foot was almost stepping on some flowers. "Don't step on the flowers!" Aerith admonished Zack as she scowled at him causing him to bring his foot back and he put it down by the edge of the flower bed._

_"Excuse me..." Zack questioned in a slightly defensive tone wondering what he had done wrong._

_"Normally people are more careful with flowers," Aerith continued still slightly annoyed with Zack as she placed her hands on her hips to emphasise her annoyance._

_"Well I guess I'm not normal," Zack stated as a pathetic exuse in an attempt to pacify Aerith. He turned his head to the flower bed, "oh..." he uttered in surprise as he had now fully realised that they were there. Pretty flowers with brightly coloured petals that were soft to the touch. "You don't see alot of flowers in Midgar," he stated as he leaned over slightly to get a closer look at the flowers. "They're like luxury items here."_

_"They only seem to grow here..." Aerith uttered as she gestured at the flowers wondering why they only grew in the church. "Although, I planted some round my house too," Aerith added proud of herself for accomplishing something impossible._

_"If I were you, I'd sell them," Zack stated as he placed his arms behind his head and paced round, however this seemed to get Aerith's attention. "Midgar's full of flowers, your wallet's full of money," Zack continued with his get rich quick idea._

_"Midgar...full of flowers...wallet...full of money..." Aerith repeated what Zack said as she thought about it."I never thought of it that way..." she added as she smiled at Zack. "Do you really think it will work?"_

_"Yeah," Zack answered as he paced round Aerith. "All you need is some flowers, a cart to put them in and a good sales pitch," Zack added. "You already have the flowers, I could take care of the cart for you."_

_"You'd be willing to make me a cart..." Aerith uttered as she stared at Zack._

_"Yeah, of course I'd have to do it during my time off but I could manage it," Zack replied._

_"Ok, while you're at it you could fix the roof too," Aerith added as she pointed at the roof._

_"Yeah, I guess I should fix that," Zack stated as he too looked at the roof. He then looked down at Aerith. "Now...about this date...I won't take no for an answer."_

_Aerith sighed as she knew that Zack wouldn't leave her alone until she agrees. "I guess I have no other choice but to agree..."_

_"So it's a date then..." Zack asked hopefully._

_"Yes, it's a date," Aerith gave in as she let Zack take hold of her arm._

_"So where to?" Zack asked as the two walked to the entrance to the church._

_"Why don't I show you round the slums?" Aerith suggested._

_"Ok, lead on," Zack agreed as the two left the church._

* * *

(End flashback)

"Are you sure you're ok mister?" The girl asked as she and the boy were still staring intently at Zack.

"Huh…" Zack began to come to his senses, "yeah," he answered, "I was just…never mind. Why are you kids here at this time of a morning?"

"Oh, the lady that was here yesterday told us to look after the flowers for her while she went to sort out a few things," the boy replied.

"I see," Zack said, "well I'll leave you kids to it," he walked passed the two children and left the church.

Zack walked away from the church and turned left to enter the Sector Five slums, he leapt on to the roof of one of the buildings and he ran across it easily jumping to the next one. He continued in this fashion for five whole minutes until he got near the entrance to Sector Six and he was surprised to see Aerith stood there, Zack crept slightly closer to the edge of the roof but not too close. 

_"Aerith," _He said in his head, she hadn't changed much in five years, but to Zack she looked even more beautiful than the last time he saw her and he looked at his gloved hands and sighed. _"I can't go down there, I can't let her see me like this, she'll freak." _But another voice spoke in his head, _"but you were away for five whole years, she's probably still waiting for you, if you don't go down there and talk to her, you'll never know." _Zack made his mind up, he wasn't going to let his fears get the better of him, he was going to go down there and talk to Aerith. He was going to find out if she still loved him, Zack prepared to jump down and talk to Aerith when he saw someone running below him. Upon closer examination Zack saw that the person was a young man in his early 20s with blond spiky hair, glowing blue eyes and wearing a SOLDIER uniform, Zack recognised the man instantly.

"_Cloud," _Zack thought to himself, he was shocked but at the same time he was pleased. _"So he did survive, and he's gotten over his Mako poisoning, maybe I should go down there and say hi." _Zack was about to leap off the roof again and talk to Cloud but he stopped as he saw Cloud approach Aerith.

"You're up early," Aerith said to Cloud, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw her.

"Yeah," Cloud replied, unsure of what to say, how did she know where he was going?

"Hmmm…let's see," Aerith closed her eyes to think, a minute later she opened them. "The gate to Sector Seven is just through here," she told Cloud.

"Aerith I…" Cloud stammered but Aerith interrupted him.

"Are you done?" She asked irritably as she rested her hands on her hips and glared at Cloud, he didn't say anything, even though he hadn't known Aerith for that long he knew how stubborn she was and that once her mind was made up no force on heaven or earth could change it. "Come on, let's go," she ran through the hole in the wall, Cloud sighed and shook his head before following her.

Zack took a few steps back and sat down on the roof, shocked at what he had seen and heard, true he was glad that Cloud was alive and well but, he seemed to have gotten quite close to Aerith. _"Could it be?" _Zack asked himself even though he half knew and half dreaded the answer. _"Has she forgotten about me? Or has she gotten tired of waiting and moved on?" _He felt hot tears burning in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away, _"I'm too late, I should've knocked on the door and spoke to her last night. I should never have broken my promise," _he stood up, _"no, I can't give up, I have to talk to her again, I have to know where I stand." _

Without hesitating any longer Zack leapt off the roof and walked through the hole in the wall leading to Sector Six, he carefully navigated his way through the rubble and debris. Fortunately he didn't have to fight as the monsters that were lurking around feared his presence and avoided him. He eventually reached the entrance to the park, he was about to enter when he saw Cloud and Aerith sat on the Moogle slide which made him think twice. He hid in the shadows and listened to the conversation.

"So what rank were you?" Aerith asked staring intently at Cloud as she rested her head on his chest.

Cloud gave her a blank stare, "Rank?" He asked her.

"You know, in SOLDIER," Aerith replied as she smiled at him.

"Oh…" Cloud responded, "I was…" Cloud hesitated as his memory went blank but then he remembered again. "First class," he finally answered.

Zack's eyes widened under his hood as he heard Cloud answer her question, _"come on Cloud, that's a lie and you know it," _Zack thought to himself, it took him all of his mental discipline to resist the urge to run up there and scream the truth to Cloud, but something told him that Cloud lying wasn't a conscious decision. So he decided to wait and see how things turned out.

"Same as him," Aerith replied to Cloud's statement, looking into his eyes as she said this. Zack's ears pricked up as he heard her mention him, not by name of course but he knew that she was talking about him.

"Same as who?" Cloud asked, it was his turn to stare intently at Aerith.

"My first boyfriend," Aerith said with a sigh as she thought about Zack and where he had been all this time, and whether he was even alive.

Zack's heart skipped a beat when he heard that, _"Yeeeessssss!" _He yelled happily in his head, _"she still remembers me, even after five years!"_

Cloud stared at Aerith, "you were serious?" He questioned, half dreading the answer, he would've hated to run into her old boyfriend.

Aerith shook her head, "no," she replied, "but I liked him for a while."

Zack felt his heart sink as he heard those words, the words rang in his ears. _"What?" _Zack asked himself looking confused, _"how can she say that?"_

"What was his name?" Cloud asked curiously, he found himself wanting to know more.

Aerith shook her head, "It doesn't matter," she answered vaguely which confirmed Zack's fears that she had gotten over him. Zack continued to stand there in the shadows as he watched Cloud and Aerith, wondering what they'd do next when he heard the sound of clopping on the ground. Zack, Cloud and Aerith looked up to see the gate of Sector Seven open and a Chocobo drawn carriage exit through the gate and turn round. Aerith stood up as she saw the carriage, she looked at the back of the carriage to see an attractive young woman with long dark brown hair wearing a skin tight blue dress stood at the back of it, she looked sad as the carriage pulled away from the gate and the gate slammed shut. "That girl was that…"

"Tifa!" Cloud exclaimed as he too stood up and saw Tifa as the carriage pulled away.

"So that girl was Tifa," Aerith stated, "it looks like she's heading towards the Wall Market, come on!" Aerith leapt off the slide and started to run towards the Wall Market, Cloud just stared at her in shock.

"I'll go on alone!" Cloud called after her, "you go home!" But Aerith had disappeared out of the park, Cloud sighed and shook his head, _"why me?" _He asked himself as he jumped off the slide and followed Aerith leaving Zack alone.

"_Hmmm…Tifa," _Zack mused, _"That name sounds so familiar to me…Nibelheim…I wonder if Tifa remembers me." _Zack came out of the shadows and walked into the park, he walked over to the slide and with a single leap he was on top of the slide and he sat down as memories flooded his mind again.

* * *

(Flashback)

_It was early evening and a teenage Zack and Aerith were sat on the Moogle slide in the park. Aerith was resting her head on Zack's chest and Zack was stroking her hair. "You know," Aerith stated as she looked up and smiled at Zack, "dating a SOLDIER has so many advantages."_

_Zack smiled back at her, "what makes you say that?" He asked her._

"_Well all my friends are jealous because I have a big, strong, handsome man taking care of me," Aerith replied as Zack continued to stroke her hair. "So what rank are you?"_

"_First class," Zack replied grinning smugly._

_Aerith smiled back, "someone's moving up in the world," she said jokingly causing Zack to stick his tongue out at her. "But I wish you didn't have to go away on so many missions, I miss having you around," she said with an air of sadness in her voice._

"_I'm not away that often am I?" Zack asked jokingly causing Aerith to give him an evil stare which was soon replaced with a smile._

"_I know," She responded, "but when you are away I miss you." Zack kissed Aerith on the lips to reassure her._

"_Don't worry," he replied encouragingly, "I'm not going anywhere for a while, ok."_

"_I know," Aerith answered, it was only when she looked at Zack's watch that she realised what time it was. "Oh no!" She yelled as she suddenly sat up._

"_What is it?" Zack asked her, his voice was filled with concern._

"_We did it again," Aerith replied as she started to panic, "mum's gonna kill me."_

"_Don't worry," Zack said reassuringly, "I'll explain everything to your mum, she can blame me…as usual," he muttered the last part under his breath, unfortunately Aerith heard it and she scowled at him._

"_Come on!" She yelled irritably as she gave Zack a hard dig in the stomach, after a few seconds Zack leapt off the slide and he caught Aerith in his arms as she also jumped off the slide. He placed her on the ground and he took her back to her house._

* * *

(End flashback)

Two whole hours had gone by when Zack finally came to his senses, he leapt off the slide and he slowly walked out of the park and made his way to the Wall Market. As far Zack was concerned the place hadn't changed much in five years as he passed all the stalls and dodged in and out of the people going about their daily business. He found himself thinking about seeing Tifa on the back of the carriage wearing that dress and he knew that that meant only one thing. _"She's going to see Corneo," _Zack said to himself and he knew that that wasn't a good thing, especially for a woman. Zack had had a few dealings with Corneo in the past during his SOLDIER days and he knew that Corneo was no good even then and he had a hunch that Corneo was no better now.

He continued to travel up the market and he came out the other side and he didn't stop walking until he arrived at Corneo's mansion. He had only been inside Corneo's mansion once before, and that time he had to force his way in resulting in the guard being hospitalised with a broken arm, two broken legs, four fractured ribs and concussion. So it came as a complete surprise to Zack that the same guard he had injured was standing at the door to the mansion. Fortunately because Zack's face was covered by the hood the guard didn't recognise him and he thought that Zack was another civilian. As soon as Zack approached the door the guard stepped in front of him blocking his path.

"Sorry," the guard drawled in his usual manner, "but the Don isn't interested in…" The man made choking noises as Zack grabbed him by the throat in mid sentence and lifted him off the ground.

"You'd be insulting yourself if you finished that sentence," Zack hissed menacingly as he brought the terrified man's face up to his own.

"…Ah…ok…" The man spoke barely above a whisper and his face changed from blue to purple, Zack suddenly released him and the man fell to the floor.

"Get Corneo," Zack ordered as the man staggered to his feet staring fearfully at Zack. "Tell him that an old friend is waiting for him, he'll know who I am."

"Y…yes sir…" The man stammered and he ran back into the mansion casting fearful glances at Zack as he did so. Zack's ears pricked up as he heard the sound of footsteps, he turned his head to see a man sneaking out of the mansion. The man panicked when he saw Zack and made a run for it, but Zack was too quick for him, with a leap he grabbed the man by the throat and dragged him to the graffiti wall at the back of the market and slammed the man's back against the wall.

"Well, well, well," Zack said with a hint of menace in his voice, "if it ain't my little buddy Kotch."

Kotch gave Zack a confused stare, "am I supposed to know you?" He asked fearfully, he winced in pain as Zack slammed his back against the wall again.

"I'm asking the questions!" Zack yelled at him, "let's talk," Zack added in a softer tone, "man to man, just you, me, my claws," at these words a metallic sound could be heard as sharp claws emerged from slits in Zack's gloves causing Kotch to flinch when he saw them. "Your balls," Kotch looked down at his nether regions and back at Zack again in shock.

"Ok, ok!" Kotch yelled in a frightened tone, "I'll talk!"

"I'm listening," Zack whispered as he clicked his claws threateningly causing Kotch to flinch again. "Where's Corneo?"

"If you're looking for Corneo," Kotch answered, "you're wasting your time, he's gone."

"Heh…figures," Zack muttered under his breath, but Kotch heard him.

"What do you mean?" Kotch questioned.

"Corneo is a coward," Zack answered, with contempt in his voice, "he runs the second things get sticky, so where did the fat bastard run to?"

"I…I don't know…" Kotch stammered but Zack slammed him against the wall again.

"Wrong answer," he hissed threateningly in Kotch's ear, "perhaps you'd like to try again."

"Look, all I know is, these three people entered the mansion," Kotch began to explain and Zack listened intently. "There was a woman with long, dark brown hair, wearing a blue dress. A woman with chestnut brown hair wearing a red dress and a man with blond spiky hair wearing a purple uniform."

"_Cloud, Aerith and Tifa," _Zack thought to himself, "Go on," Zack prompted Kotch to continue.

"They started to pump Corneo for information," Kotch continued with the explanation.

"And what did he tell them?"

"He told them that Shinra had discovered where Avalanche's hideout is," Kotch told Zack, Zack thought about this carefully.

"Avalanche, the rebel group?" He questioned Kotch, Kotch nodded.

"Yeah," he answered, "apparently Avalanche's hideout is in the Sector Seven slums, Shinra's gonna crush Avalanche by blowing up the plate support in that sector."

"They're gonna blow up the support…" Zack couldn't believe what he was hearing, he knew that Shinra were corrupt, but he didn't think that they'd wipe out an entire sector just to get rid of a small rebel group. "But all those innocent people will be killed."

"You think that matters to the Shinra?" Kotch asked him, Zack hesitated to answer, "see I didn't think so, look if they catch me talking to you they're gonna kill me."

Zack released Kotch, "go on get out of here, oh and if you ever cross my path again, I won't hesitate to kill you, you got that?"

"Yes," Kotch replied and he ran off.

Zack shook his head and sighed, true he wanted to find Aerith, Cloud and Tifa and talk to them but he had more pressing issues right now, like saving Sector Seven from a grizzly fate. He left the Wall Market and he ran through the park and through the Sector Seven gate. He continued walking as he entered Sector Seven and everything seemed perfectly normal. _"Good," _Zack thought to himself as he heaved a huge sigh of relief, _"they're not here yet." _

Just as he thought that he had gotten there in time Zack heard shouting and screaming coming from the pillar, he ran as fast as he could through the Sector Seven slums to the pillar. He saw two people fighting off Shinra guards, one of them was a young man who went by the name of Biggs, the other was a young woman who went by the name of Jessie. To Zack it seemed like they were doing well against the guards, but for everyone they managed to knock out more guards arrived to replace them and it wasn't long before Biggs and Jessie were overwhelmed. After knocked several of the guards out one of them crept up behind Jessie and knocked her into the wall of a building. She winced in pain as her back slammed against the wall, but before she had a chance to get up Biggs landed on top of her stunned. A group of Shinra guards walked over to them and pointed their shotguns at them, their fingers were poised on the trigger ready to shoot when a hand quickly reached out, grabbed one the guards by the neck and slammed his head into the wall knocking him out.

"Don't just stand there, shoot him!" The captain screamed at his men, there was a general panic round the troops as they all pointed their guns at the new target but Zack was too quick for them. He leapt into the air and kicked the gun out of the guard's hands before he even had chance to shoot, Zack then drove one of his feet into the guard's stomach and performed a backward somersault winding the guy and knocking him out. Zack then grabbed another guy by the throat and swung him round and round above his head before he launched the man into the other guards knocking them all over like dominos. Satisfied that all the guards were knocked out, Zack ran over to Biggs and Jessie who had finally managed to stagger to their feet.

"Are you ok?" He asked them, Biggs and Jessie nodded.

"Who are you?" Biggs questioned as he gave Zack a sceptical stare, despite the fact that Zack was wearing a hood over his eyes, Biggs could still see the glow.

"Let's just say I have a few scores to settle with the Shinra," Zack replied vaguely as he noticed that the guards were regaining consciousness and that more were on the way.

Biggs smiled at Zack, "looks like we got an other ex SOLDIER who's willing to join our cause," Biggs stated happily. "I'm Biggs by the way and this is Jessie."

Zack smiled back, "I'm Zack," he told them his name.

"Hi Zack," Jessie said happily, she then turned her attention to Biggs. "What do you mean?" Jessie asked her friend.

"The glow in his eyes," Biggs answered as he pointed at Zack, "he used to be one of them, and now he's one of us."

"Err guys," Zack interrupted them and Biggs and Jessie stopped talking, "let's just focus on saving Sector Seven," he said as he punched an approaching Shinra guard square in the jaw. Biggs and Jessie heard the sickening crack as the guy's jaw broke. Zack then kneed the guy in the stomach and punched him again breaking his neck. The guy fell to the floor dead as his comrades looked at him horrified, Zack grinned under his hood and his eyes flashed as he lusted for blood. "NEXT!" He yelled at the group of soldiers before he charged at them quickly followed by Biggs and Jessie. After another half hour of fighting, the guards just kept coming, Jessie had ran up the stairs of the pillar leading some of the soldiers away from Sector Seven but she soon found herself cornered and the sound of a gunshot could be heard.

"JESSIE!" Biggs yelled and he made a run for it up the stairs to help Jessie.

"Wait!" Zack called after him but Biggs didn't hear him and he was soon wounded as well. "BIGGS!" Zack yelled and he ran up to the wounded man.

"Uhhhh…" Biggs moaned softly as he leaned against the railings of the stairs, he smiled when he saw Zack, "hey Zack…" He muttered weakly.

"Don't talk," Zack told him, "you should save your strength."

"It doesn't matter anyway…" Biggs continued and he hung his head sadly, "it's over."

Zack shook his head, "no," he said reassuringly, "it isn't over till it's over."

"Our leader Barret is at the top of the pillar along with our friend Wedge," Biggs informed Zack as Zack listened carefully to what Biggs was telling him. "If you want to save this Sector then you should get up there and help him, you can't miss him, he has a gun arm…"

Zack nodded, "I will," he replied as he started to run up the stairs, he stopped and he turned round to face Biggs again. "But I'm coming back for you," he said and he continued running up the stairs as paratroopers landed on top of the pillar.

Meanwhile on top of the pillar Barret was busy shooting at the paratroopers that tried to land on the pillar. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the sound of footsteps on the metal steps leading to the top of the pillar. He quickly turned round and pointed his gun arm and shot at the source of the sound completely blowing the hood off Zack's coat. Fortunately Zack was still hidden in the shadows and Barret didn't get a clear view of his face, but Barret glared at him nevertheless. "Don't sneak up on me like that fool!" He yelled at Zack.

"Are you Barret?" Zack asked as he stared at Barret in shock at the man having almost killed him.

"Who's askin'?" Barret questioned, he was so focused on Zack that he didn't even notice a paratrooper pointing his gun at him.

"Look out behind you!" Zack yelled and before he knew what he was doing he created a fireball in his hand and threw it at the trooper knocking him off the edge of the building, Barret saw this and he looked back at Zack again.

"Just get your skinny ass over here!" Barret yelled at Zack and Zack ran towards Barret, while being careful to remain in the shadows and Barret resumed shooting at the paratroopers while Zack created two more fireballs and launched them at the landing paratroopers. But it wasn't long before they were being overwhelmed, and Barret looked over at Zack but it was difficult to see his face as he was still hidden in the shadows. "Think we can take em?" Barret called over to him as he reloaded his gun arm, pointed it in the air and shot at any incoming paratroopers. He managed to shoot most of them down and they fell to the ground lying in bloody heaps all around Barret's feet.

However some of the paratroopers managed to land and they started to attack Barret and Zack. Wedge tried to help but he got shot by a Shinra guard and because he was right on the edge he fell off the pillar to the ground below. "WEDGE!" Barret yelled as he witnessed his comrade fall, he turned round and glared at the soldier who shot Wedge and he pointed his gun arm at him. But before he even had chance to shoot the guy he saw a black blur whiz passed him and his eyes grew wide with shock as he saw sharp claws stab into the man's chest and right through his heart. The man's comrades stopped in their tracks and stared in horror as the man cried out and writhed in pain as Zack removed his claws from the man's chest as he fell to the ground. Zack took one look at the body before he looked up and grinned evilly at the other soldiers who started backing away in fear.

It was at that moment that Zack realised he was out of the shadows and Barret had a clear view of his face. Barret walked slowly towards Zack and he managed to get a closer look at his face and he was shocked to see that Zack's skin was a light purple colour, he had bright yellow eyes, which looked almost animal like, his eyes glowed and flashed vividly as they lusted for blood, he had wild spiky hair which was as black as night and small black horns protruded from the top of his head. His pointed ears were pricked up as if he was listening out for something, Barret thought that Zack looked quite feral especially with his claws sticking out. Barret pointed his gun arm at Zack, "What the hell are you?" He asked loudly unaware that there were more troops on the way.

"SHOOT FIRST ASK QUESTIONS LATER!" Zack yelled as he pointed up at the sky and more paratroopers landed. "I'll take care of the ones that have landed, you shoot the others down before they land," Zack ordered as he ran over to the next poor soul who would feel the wrath of Zack's claws.

Barret pointed his gun arm at the sky again and he continued to shoot the paratroopers that were now dropping like flies after being shot at several times. Zack meanwhile made short work of any paratroopers that did manage to avoid Barret's bullets. After another half hour Cloud and Tifa arrived, Barret turned round and he smiled when he saw them. "Cloud, Tifa!" He called out their names as he ran up to them. "You both came!"

"Of course we did," Cloud replied as he readied his sword.

Tifa put her gloves on and got herself ready for battle when she noticed someone else fighting. "Who's that?" She asked as she continued to watch the stranger fight with amazing speed and skill. However after Zack had killed the final soldier he saw Tifa and Cloud with Barret and ran over to them.

"There'll be plenty of time for questions later," Zack replied ignoring Cloud and Tifa's gasps, "right now we've got to save this Sector." He flexed his clawed fingers out and he too got into a fighting stance.

"Heads up! Here they come!" Barret yelled as all four of them looked up to see a helicopter flying above them and Barret began to shoot at the helicopter as Reno jumped off it and landed on the pillar. He ran over to the Plate Support Destruction Panel and he pushed the button.

"That's all folks, mission accomplished!" Reno yelled triumphantly as Barret Cloud, Tifa and Zack stared at him in shock.

"Cloud do something!" Tifa yelled urgently as she gave Cloud a pleading stare. Cloud, Barret, Tifa and Zack ran towards Reno. He quickly turned round and brandished his nightstick at them.

"Not so fast!" He shouted cockily not taking his eyes off the group, after he took a closer look at them he grinned when he saw Zack. "Well, well," he spoke up, "not only do we get to destroy Avalanche but we get to re-capture an experiment, talk about killing two birds with one stone."

Cloud, Barret and Tifa all stared at Zack, "You're an experiment?" Barret questioned him.

"Can we talk about this later?" Zack asked through gritted teeth and all four of them turned their attention to Reno again. "Reno, there's something I wanna ask you...where's Cissnei?"

"I don't know," Reno answered with a shrug as his face suddenly became serious. "Even if I did, do you really think I'd tell you?"

"She's my friend," Zack added through gritted teeth. "I haven't seen her for a while, I just wanted to know where she is."

"Like I said, I don't know where she is or where the others are..." Reno answered as he glared at Zack. "We're very short staffed at the moment."

"Err...Zack, we have more pressing issues right now," Tifa reminded him of their current situation.

"Yeah, you're right," Zack agreed. "Time to knock this deuche bag down a peg or two!"

"Heh!" Reno laughed as his grinned again, "no one gets in the way of Reno and the Turks!" Energy charged up in the nightstick and Reno thrust it outwards aiming at Zack. A flash of light came out of it aiming to encase Zack in a pyramid, of course Zack was far too quick for it and he dodged out of the way the light fizzled out and disappeared. Zack then quickly dodged out of the way again as Reno charged towards him hoping to stun him with the electricity that shot out of the rod.

Reno tried to strike Zack again but instead the rod came into contact with Cloud's sword. Cloud and Reno fought ferociously as they both parried each others attacks neither could get an effective blow in. Zack and Tifa eventually joined in the fray punching, kicking (and in Zack's case) scratching Reno in every available spot. Reno managed to force Cloud's sword off him and fought against both Tifa and Zack at the same time. Ducking and dodging their attacks and even giving them slight injuries, however both Zack and Tifa were fast and strong and were dealing more powerful blows to Reno. Reno on the other hand was fighting against four people, and he brought his nightstick up to his head as he parried against Cloud's sword again and he quickly dodged around the pillar as he saw Barret shooting at him from a distance with his gun arm. With the combined efforts of Zack, Cloud, Tifa and Barret this was a very short battle and Reno eventually gave up.

"Uhhhh…" He moaned in pain as he knelt down on the floor and looked at his injuries. Fortunately they were relatively minor, "ok," he spoke softly as he staggered to his feet. "You win this round, but can you get out of here just in time before the sector blows up?" Before anyone could stop him, Reno ran passed Tifa almost knocking her off balance and he jumped off the edge of the pillar.

Cloud and Tifa ran over to the computer terminal, "Do something Cloud!" Tifa yelled urgently as Cloud started to press buttons at random.

"I can't," Cloud replied, "this isn't an ordinary time bomb." All four of them looked up as they heard the sound of a helicopter. Barret pointed his gun arm at the helicopter, Tseng the leader of the Turks stuck his head out of the window.

"That's right," he gloated as Cloud, Barret, Tifa and Zack glared at him. "only a Shinra executive can arm or disarm the emergency plate destruction sequence. That thing will blow the second some fool touches it." Barret shot at the helicopter but Tseng didn't appear to be fazed. "Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said to Barret, "you might just make me hurt my special guest." At these words Aerith's head poked out of the window.

"AERITH!" Cloud, Zack and Tifa yelled at the same time as they saw her in the helicopter.

Tseng smiled at this, "aaahhh, so you know each other, well, this could be the last time you see her."

"What are you going to do to her?" Cloud yelled up at Tseng.

"Shinra have been looking for the last Ancient for years," Tseng answered, "and now I can finally report this to the president."

Aerith reached her hand out of the helicopter, "Tifa!" She called out to the group, "don't worry, she's safe…aaahhhh!" Aerith cried out in pain as Tseng slapped her. "Hurry get out!" Aerith shouted to the group just as the helicopter flew away to safety.

Meanwhile, Zack, Cloud, Tifa and Barret felt the pillar shake underneath them, "guys," Zack spoke up, "I think that's our cue to leave!"

"But what about Marlene…Biggs…Wedge…Jessie…they'll all…" Barret started but Zack interrupted him.

"And if we don't get out of here, we'll die!"

"Once the pillar comes crashing down, the whole sector is done for!" Tifa exclaimed as debris fell from the plate above them. Barret climbed on to the railing of the pillar and he saw a piece of wire dangling above him. He grabbed hold of the hook part of it.

"Yo!" He called out to the group and waved his hand at them to get their attention. "It looks like we can use this wire to get out!" Cloud, Tifa and Zack ran over to where Barret was, Tifa climbed on to Barret's lap, Cloud climbed on to Barret's left shoulder and Zack climbed on to Barret's right shoulder. Barret leapt off the side of the pillar and all four of them swung to safety on the wire just as the pillar came crashing down and completely destroyed Sector Seven.

All four of them let go of the wire and they all landed safely in the park in Sector six. Zack woke up and he staggered to his feet just as Cloud, Barret and Tifa had got to their feet. "Is everyone ok?" He asked.

"We're fine," Tifa replied, all four of them found themselves instinctively walking towards the Sector Seven gate which was now blocked off by debris from the explosion.

"Marlene!" Barret yelled at the top of his lungs as he ran frantically from left to right, Cloud, Tifa and Zack were just stood there staring at him in stunned silence. "Biggs…Wedge…Jessie!" Barret ran to the centre of the debris and he started to punch it. "GOD DAMN IT!" He yelled as he continued to punch the rubble.

"Barret…" Tifa finally broke the silence as she, Cloud and Zack ran over to him.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Barret continued to yell ignoring Tifa.

"Hey Barret…" Cloud tried to calm Barret down, but he too failed.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS IT ALL FOR?" Barret continued to curse in the same fashion as he punched the debris again.

"Barret…" Zack tried his luck, "maybe you should calm down…"

"DON'T TELL ME TO BE CALM!" Barret retorted as he turned round to glare at Zack for a brief second before turning round to punch the debris again. "!"

"Hey Barret!" Cloud called out Barret's name to snap him out of it.

"Barret…please stop…" Tifa pleaded.

"Try to relax, you'll live longer," Zack cut in.

Barret continued to shout as he pointed his gun arm at the debris and began to pump bullets into it.

"Barret I really think…" Tifa spoke up again but the rest of her sentence was drowned out by Barret shooting the debris. Zack walked up behind Barret and punched him in the face knocking him out, Barret fell to the ground and Cloud and Tifa glared at Zack.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Tifa demanded not taking her eyes off Zack.

"Well I didn't see you coming up with any suggestions!" Zack shot back as he grabbed hold of Barret and dragged him over to the slide, Cloud and Tifa followed. After a while, Barret woke up.

"Uhhhhh…" He moaned as he held his head, "what hit me?" Cloud and Tifa glared at Zack.

"In my defence, it was the only way to get you to calm down," Zack replied before Barret could say anything.

"Marlene…" Barret moaned as the realisation that he might never see his daughter again sunk in.

"Barret," Tifa spoke up, "Marlene is…I think she's safe."

Barret looked up at Tifa, "what?" He asked.

"Right before they took Aerith," Tifa explained, "she said 'don't worry, she's safe.' She must've been talking about Marlene."

"Really…" Barret asked hopefully as he stood up.

"But…" Tifa started to speak.

"Biggs…Wedge…and Jessie…" Barret cut in.

"All four of them were in the pillar…" Cloud added as all three of them understood what it meant.

"You think I don't know that!" Barret snapped at them, "but we all fought together, I don't want to think of them as dead."

"But what about the other people in Sector Seven?" Tifa asked Barret.

"You think all those innocent people mattered to the Shinra?" Zack asked as he stared intently at Tifa.

"This is all messed up!" Barret yelled, "They destroyed an entire sector, just to get rid of us! So many innocent people…"

"So…you're saying it was our fault?" Tifa questioned Barret, "that because of Avalanche so many people lost their lives?"

Barret shook his head, "no Tifa," he answered, "it ain't us, it's the damn Shinra, it's always been the Shinra." Cloud turned round and he walked away from the group, not looking at them. "The Shinra are destroyin' this planet so they can line their own damn pockets with gold! And if we don't do something they'll kill the planet! This ain't never gonna be over until we can get rid of them, are you with me?" Barret looked at the others as he said this.

"Well…" Tifa stammered as Barret stared intently at her, "I don't know…"

"What do you mean you don't know?" Barret demanded, "you think I'm wrong?"

Tifa shook her head, "no, no, it's not that…" she answered choosing her words carefully, "it's just me…I'm not so sure about my feelings…"

Barret looked at Zack, "And what about you Zack?" He asked the ex SOLDIER, Tifa's eyes widened as she heard the name but her expression quickly returned to normal as she thought she had imagined it.

Zack grinned, "we get to kick Shinra's ass left, right and centre…I'm in," he replied as Barret smiled at him and Barret then turned his attention to Cloud.

"And what about you?" He asked, but Cloud didn't answer, and he walked out of the park. "Yo!" Barret called after him but Cloud didn't hear him, "where's he going?" Barret questioned.

"Oh…Aerith," Tifa answered.

"Oh yeah that girl," Barret spoke up, "what's up with her?"

Tifa shrugged in response, "I don't know…but she's the one who took Marlene to safety."

"Damn Marlene!" Barret yelled and he ran for the exit, but when he saw that neither Tifa nor Zack was following him he turned round. "Come on you two, there's no turning back now!" He called to them as he left the park.

"But…" Tifa stammered.

"Barret's right," Zack reassured her, "the only way left to go now is forwards." Zack walked towards the exit and left the park, Tifa followed but when she got to the exit, she stopped and turned round to look back at her former home before she followed the others.

Cloud was just walking through the broken highway when Barret, Tifa and Zack caught up with him. "Take me to Marlene," Barret demanded.

"Are you going to help Aerith?" Tifa asked him.

"Yeah," Cloud answered, "but first I want to know something…about the Ancients…" Cloud stood there staring blankly for a second, "Sephiroth…" Cloud muttered as he fell forwards.

"Cloud!" Tifa yelled as she ran up to him.

"I'm ok," Cloud answered as he stood up, "come on, let's go." Cloud walked off and the others followed but Zack hesitated.

"Zack…" Tifa stopped and she turned to look at Zack, "come on."

"Just give me a second," Zack replied, he wasn't in a hurry to move.

"Are you afraid?" Tifa asked him.

Zack shook his head, "no…" he answered faltering slightly, Tifa gave him a sceptical stare. "It's complicated ok," Zack finally admitted.

Tifa walked up to Zack and grabbed hold of his hand, "come on," she replied as she dragged Zack out of Sector Six as the group travelled to Aerith's house.

* * *

**Finally chapter 2 is complete, it took me forever to write this. Zack has now teamed up with Avalanche, will they be able to rescue Aerith. (The obvious answer being yes, if you've already played the game then you will know this, if not…well you probably wouldn't be reading this if you haven't played the game) Chapter 3 will be coming soon. Just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters, they belong to Square Enix.**


	3. To Save a Cetra

**Chapter 3: To Save a Cetra**

It had been a whole half hour since Zack, Barret, Tifa and Cloud had escaped from Sector Seven which was now nothing more than a large pile of rubble thanks to the Shinra. After vowing to avenge the deaths of their friends and promising to stop the Shinra at all costs the foursome were now walking down the streets of the Sector Five slums. Eventually they reached Aerith's house, Cloud opened the door and he walked in followed by Barret. Tifa walked up to the door and she was about to enter the house when she noticed that Zack wasn't following her. She turned round to see that the ex SOLDIER was still stood at the front gate hidden in the shadows.

"Zack are you coming?" Tifa asked him, Zack shook his head and he didn't move.

"No," He answered, "I can't go in there."

Tifa scowled at Zack and she placed her hands on her hips, "why not?" She demanded as she walked up to him. "Why can't you go in there?"

"Because…" Zack started to answer, he was about to tell Tifa the real reason why he won't go into the house but he thought better of it. "Like I said…it's complicated and…what are you doing?" Tifa grabbed hold of Zack's arm and she dragged him up the path to the house. "Tifa!" Zack yelled as he dug his boot clad feet into the gravel making it harder for Tifa to drag him, nevertheless she managed to drag him to the door, Zack scowled at her. "You're not gonna let this drop are you?" He asked, Tifa shook her head.

"Nope," she replied with a grin, "now get inside, I'm sure it's not that bad."

"You have no idea," Zack muttered under his breath, but he knew that Tifa wouldn't let it drop if he didn't go inside so he rather reluctantly entered the house and Tifa followed behind him. However as soon as he entered he hid himself in the shadows as a middle aged woman wearing a green dress and a white apron over the top turned round to face the group. Zack recognised the woman instantly but he kept his mouth shut.

"Cloud isn't it?" She asked as she walked over to the group.

Cloud nodded, "yeah, Elmyra I'm sorry to have to tell you this but…"

"It's about Aerith isn't it?" Elmyra finished off Cloud's sentence, she didn't need to hear anymore.

Cloud nodded, "I'm sorry," he replied solemnly, "The Shinra have her."

"I know," Elmyra said sadly, Cloud, Tifa Barret and Zack who was still hidden in the shadows trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible all stared at Elmyra in shock so she continued. "The Shinra came and took her."

"They were here?" Cloud asked still in shock.

Elmyra nodded, "yes," she answered, "it's what Aerith wanted…" She continued, the others continued to stare at her, eventually Cloud spoke up.

"What did the Shinra want with Aerith?" He questioned, however Elmyra turned away from the group and she didn't answer for some time.

"Aerith is an Ancient," She finally answered, although she was rather reluctant to do so. "The sole survivor."

Cloud, Barret and Tifa stared at Elmyra in shock. Zack however wasn't so shocked as he had already known Aerith's secret. Granted she never told him herself, Zack had found out from Tseng. _"That's why Tseng was watching her," _Zack stated in his head. _"That's why the Shinra were so interested in her, because she was an Ancient..."_ Zack sighed silently to himself. _"But Tseng couldn't bring himself to take her in...why now?" _Thoughts kept buzzing round Zack's head and he found himself wanting to ask Elmyra why Aerith would give herself up to the Shinra after being able to avoid them all these years. He wanted to know why Aerith didn't tell him her secret herself. _"Why didn't she tell me...I could've done something to protect her..." _Zack thought this in his head and he suddenly felt helpless. _"Maybe that's why she didn't want to tell you," _a more realistic thought entered his head. _"Because she knew that you'd try to risk your job and your life to protect her, besides she would've told you when she was ready." _Zack nodded agreeing with his more realistic thought realising that it was right. He still want to know why Aerith would give herself up so willingly but he didn't want to reveal himelf to Elmyra, not yet so he kept quiet.

Also Zack knew that Elmyra was mad at him for not returning for five years, and although he had a good reason for his five year absence, he wasn't sure that Elmyra would see it that way. Besides he couldn't explain everything even if he wanted to, he knew that Elmyra wouldn't believe him, that she'd rather believe that Zack was dead, or worse still gone off with another woman. _"Let her believe what she wants to believe," _Zack told himself, _"I know the truth, and I'm gonna tell Aerith the truth as soon as we save her from those power hungry, money grabbing bastards! As long as both me and Aerith know the truth, that's all that matters to me."_

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Barret's voice boomed through the quiet room breaking the awkward silence, he was having trouble taking it all in. "Did you say that Aerith is an Ancient?" Elmyra nodded, "But you're her mother, right?"

Elmyra shook her head, but she didn't face the group, "not her real mother," she replied sadly, "oh it must've been fifteen years ago now…" Elmyra explained everything that had happened from her waiting at the train station for her husband to return, to finding Aerith at the train station and bringing her up, to discovering that her adoptive daughter was an Ancient. When she had finished explaining the group looked at each other again.

"It's amazing how Aerith has avoided the Shinra for all these years," Cloud spoke up in awe at Aerith's uncanny ability to avoid the Shinra.

Elmyra turned round to face the group, "The Shinra needed her," she replied still with an air of sadness in her voice. "So I guess they won't harm her."

"But why now?" Tifa found herself asking.

"She brought a little girl with her," Elmyra answered, "Tseng found them on the way here, I guess they didn't get away fast enough, Aerith agreed to go with Tseng in exchange for the little girl's safety."

Barret looked from Cloud, to Tifa, to Zack who was still amazingly hidden in the shadows. He gave them each a hopeful expression. "Marlene!" Barret yelled and he walked over to Elmyra. "Aerith got caught because she was protecting Marlene, I'm so sorry about this," Barret apologised to Elmyra, "Marlene's my daughter."

Elmyra scowled at Barret, "so you're her father…" she scolded at Barret, "how could you leave a child alone like that?"

"Please don't make feel even worse than I do already," Barret pleaded with Elmyra, "I think about it all the time, what would happen to Marlene if I…" Barret launched into a long explanation, "Don't get me wrong, I wanna be with Marlene, but I also have to fight for the good of the planet. But I'm worried about Marlene and I just wanna be with her always…see, I'm going round in circles now," Barret said in a confused manner.

Elmyra nodded and her expression softened, she knew that Barret meant well and being a parent herself she knew what Barret was going through. "I think I understand what you're saying," she said sympathetically, she was about to say more but she was cut off.

"That's why she went with them willingly," Zack spoke up unable to keep silent any longer. "Sacrificing her freedom for a little girl...that's noble..."

Elmyra's heart skipped a beat when she heard Zack speak, she didn't even know he was there, he was that quiet, but when she heard his voice, a voice that was all too familiar to her, a voice she'd rather forget she had to investigate it. "Wait a minute," she said as she walked towards the source of the voice, "I know that voice." Elmyra walked to the corner of the room where Zack was still hiding, but knowing that his cover was blown he had no choice but reveal himself to Elmyra. Elmyra could hear the sound of footsteps as Zack slowly and reluctantly stepped out of the shadows, Elmyra gasped and staggered back in shock when she saw Zack's face, but that shock was soon replaced with anger when she remembered who the man was and what he did, or rather didn't do. "Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes!" She snapped at Zack.

"You're telling me," Barret said in agreement causing Zack to glare evilly at him with his yellow eyes. "He scared the shit out of me when I first saw him."

"Elmyra…" Zack muttered quietly, he knew what was coming and frankly he wasn't in the mood for a grilling session from Elmyra, nor did he have the time.

"Don't you Elmyra me!" Elmyra retorted as she glared at Zack, Cloud, Tifa and Barret were just staring at the two in silence.

"Errr…I think I'm gonna check up on Marlene," Barret said, finally breaking the silence.

"Oh," Elmyra turned round to face Barret, she'd forgotten to tell him where Marlene was. "She's upstairs asleep," she told Barret.

"Thanks," Barret replied gratefully and he walked up the stairs.

"I'll come with you," Cloud said and he followed Barret up the stairs.

"I think I'm gonna go in the garden," Tifa stated and she walked out of the front door leaving Zack and Elmyra alone.

"Well…" Elmyra snapped as she stared up at Zack, she had her arms folded and she tapped her foot on the floor. Even though Zack was taller and stronger than her, she wasn't afraid of him, she knew his type and she wasn't going to back down.

"Well what?" Zack asked as he stared down at Elmyra, he knew what was coming next having been on the receiving end of Elmyra's interrogation methods once before. He knew how stubborn Elmyra was and that she wouldn't stop bugging him until she got the answers she wanted, but Zack had already gone over everything that had happened to him in his head over and over and over again until it had almost driven him insane, and he didn't want to explain it to someone else let alone Elmyra. She probably wouldn't have believed him even if he told her. _"Elmyra wouldn't know the truth if it danced naked in front of her," _He thought to himself.

"Don't take that tone with me!" Elmyra yelled at Zack, it was that kind of insincerity that really annoyed her, but when she looked into his face and his yellow eyes, how feral and serious he looked she wasn't sure what to think. "Where have you been all this time?"

"I've been asking myself the same bloody question," Zack replied, half to himself and half to Elmyra.

"So explain," Elmyra continued to ask questions, but when Zack tried to answer she cut in, "so your mistress gave you the boot did she?" She asked giving Zack an evil glare, "did she find out what a sleazy, womanising jerk you really are?"

"IT WASN'T LIKE THAT!" Zack screamed at Elmyra, his patience for this woman had finally worn thin. Elmyra was at a complete loss for words, she had never heard Zack yell like that before and she hoped she'd never have to again. "TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT ME!" Zack continued to yell and he pointed at his face. "DO YOU THINK ANY WOMAN WOULD GO NEAR ME WHILE I LOOK LIKE THIS?"

"That's not the point Zack!" Elmyra yelled back after finding her voice again, "My point is you were gone for five years, five whole years! Aerith waited for you, but you just never came back!"

"IT'S COMPLICATED OK!" Zack continued to yell as he became more and more frustrated at Elmyra. "BUT I WOULDN'T EXPECT YOU TO UNDERSTAND!"

"AND WHAT WOULDN'T I UNDERSTAND?" Elmyra raised her voice, she too was beginning to get frustrated at Zack, "I KNOW YOUR TYPE ZACK! I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE THE SECOND AERITH BROUGHT YOU HOME AND I WAS RIGHT…WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"

"I DON'T HAVE TO STAY HERE AND LISTEN TO THIS!" Zack yelled at Elmyra as he turned round and stormed out of the house slamming the door behind him. He walked down the path to the garden juvenilely kicking pebbles as he did so, _"who does she think she is?" _Zack thought bitterly to himself as he kicked another pebble and his claws sprang out through the slits in his gloves as he flexed his hands. _"Acting all high and mighty, why does everything always have to be my fault?" _Zack didn't get an answer to his questions as he had entered the garden but he stopped when he saw Tifa in there.

Tifa turned round and she smiled when she saw Zack, "hi Zack," she said cheerfully as Zack walked over to her.

"Hey…" Zack muttered dejectedly, as he breathed deeply trying to calm himself down. Tifa saw that his claws were out and that he was looking pissed off about something.

"What's wrong?" Tifa asked as she stared intently at Zack.

Zack said nothing at first, but he knew that nothing could get passed Tifa so he had no choice but to tell her, "It's just…" Zack started to explain, "Elmyra…I think she blames me for this…"

"I don't think she does," Tifa said reassuringly, but she knew right away that Zack wouldn't be consoled, but she also knew that Zack was feeling down and she should encourage him to talk about his problems even if she couldn't help him. "Elmyra doesn't seem like the kind of person to hold a grudge."

"You don't know her," Zack replied as he sat down on the grass next to Tifa, "Elmyra's always had a problem with me ever since I started dating Aerith."

"So that's why you didn't want to go in there," Tifa said, her eyes grew wide with realisation, "Zack if I'd have known, I never would've…"

"It's ok," Zack brushed Tifa's apology aside.

"I should've realised…"

"Don't worry about it…"

"You still love her don't you?" Tifa asked Zack, even though she half knew the answer.

Zack nodded, "she's the reason I came back to Midgar in the first place," Zack answered as he hung his head, "but now…I think she has eyes for someone else…"

"You mean Cloud?" Tifa questioned and Zack nodded.

"I saw them in the park together," he told Tifa, even though it hurt him to tell her as he knew that Cloud loved Tifa, in fact back in their SOLDIER days Cloud didn't shut up about Tifa and now Zack understood why. Tifa was a stunningly beautiful woman, she was also smart and one hell of a fighter, but she was also kind hearted and for some reason Zack felt comfortable around her, like he did at Nibelheim. "They looked quite cosy to me."

"Oh…" Tifa said in surprise and she tried her best to hide her disappointment, though she never really admitted it before, she had had feelings for Cloud since she was a kid and she still held feelings for him now, but it seemed to her that he didn't feel the same way. "I see…"

However because in his current state Zack's ears were more sensitive, not to mention he had been tuning his ears to the sound of people's voices he could still hear the disappointment in Tifa's voice, despite her best efforts to hide it. "He likes you, you know," Zack told Tifa, she looked at him, her brown eyes were filled with hope.

"Really?" She asked, Zack nodded.

"Yeah," he replied reassuringly, "he used to talk about you a lot, in fact…he never shut up about you."

"But he likes Aerith now," Tifa replied sadly as she hung her head, Zack retracted his claws and he placed one finger under her chin and he gently lifted her face up so that she was looking at him.

"Listen to me Tifa, Cloud loves you, I know in my heart that he does," however in reality Zack wasn't too sure, and he suddenly felt out of place, and he couldn't help but feel worried. On the one hand he feared that Aerith, the love of his life had forgotten about him and moved on, to his best friend of all people, but on the other hand, even though he felt threatened by Cloud right now, because he was the "handsome hero" in Aerith's eyes where as he was now a freak, he felt human but at the same time he didn't. In fact Zack couldn't remember the last time he felt truly human. Nevertheless he didn't want to put Tifa down, he felt something wet as a teardrop landed on his hand. He looked at Tifa's face to see that she was crying slightly so he decided to change the subject. "Hey Tifa, do you remember Nibelheim?"

Tifa nodded, "I've never forgotten it," she replied, which was true. It had haunted her dreams even now, and she wondered if she ever will forget it.

"Good," Zack replied as he removed his finger from under Tifa's chin, he stood up and he helped Tifa to her feet.

"Why do you ask?" Tifa questioned as she gave Zack a sceptical stare.

"You know I was there right?" He asked.

Tifa nodded, "Of course I do," she replied wondering why Zack would ask that.

"Could you tell Elmyra?"

"Why?"

"Because she won't believe me," Zack answered and he gave Tifa a pleading look, "but she'll believe you, please Tifa," Zack pleaded with Tifa and he gave her the puppy dog expression, in the end she couldn't say no.

"Alright," she gave in, "I'll see what I can do."

Zack grinned, "thanks Tifa, you're the best." Zack and Tifa left the garden and they walked down the path until they came to the front door. They entered the house to find that Elmyra was stood there waiting for them. "Elmyra," Zack called the woman's name.

"Yes?" Elmyra asked, she stared intently at Zack willing to listen to what he had to say.

"Look, there's something I have to tell you, but please don't tell Cloud or anyone else ok," Elmyra nodded and Zack with the help of Tifa in some parts began to explain, they told her everything that had happened in the past five years, from Sephiroth discovering that he was created to fighting Sephiroth in the reactor. Zack told Elmyra about his five year imprisonment in the basement of the Shinra mansion, he told her about his escape and that he was heading back to Midgar when he was shot. He told Elmyra that when he woke up he found himself in a lab where he was experimented on further.

"So you were on your way back here?" Elmyra asked, hardly daring to believe what Zack had said, she thought that this had to be some kind of joke, but when she looked into Zack's eyes and his face she realised that he wasn't lying. "You weren't lying…"

"I told you," Zack whispered softly, "how else do you think I ended up like this?" He asked and he pointed to himself.

"I'm sorry Zack, it's just that…it's so hard to believe…I wanted to believe that you'd gone off with another woman because…"

"It was the easiest thing to believe," Zack finished her sentence for her.

Elmyra nodded, "yes," she replied, she wanted to say more, but Cloud walked down the stairs and she immediately shut her mouth. Cloud walked up to the group.

"So you two have finished arguing?" He asked.

Zack and Elmyra nodded, "It was just a big misunderstanding," Zack told Cloud, Cloud nodded to show that he understood, and without saying another word about it he walked to the front door, he was about to walk out of it when Tifa stopped him.

"You're going after Aerith right?" Tifa asked, even though she knew the answer.

Cloud turned round and he nodded, "yeah," he answered.

"I'm going with you," Tifa stated.

"We're going right into Shinra headquarters," Cloud explained to her, "you have to be prepared."

"I know," Tifa replied, she made up her mind, she was going and there was nothing anyone could say or do to make her change her mind. "Right now, I feel like I have to push myself, I'd go crazy if I stayed here."

"I'm going too," Zack cut in, "I want to save Aerith, and I want to get my revenge on the people who did this to me." The ground suddenly shook as Barret ran down the stairs, "take it easy there Bigfoot," Zack joked, Barret glared at Zack and he walked over to Elmyra.

"I'm really sorry," Barret apologised again, "but could you look after Marlene for a little longer?" He pleaded with the kind woman.

Elmyra smiled and nodded, "of course, I don't mind, just promise me you'll come back and see her, that you won't get yourself killed."

"I promise," Barret replied, "this place is dangerous now, you should go somewhere else."

"You're right," Elmyra agreed, "now get going."

Zack, Cloud Tifa and Barret nodded and they ran out of the house, Zack mouthed thank you to Elmyra before he left. All four of them were now stood in the yard discussing their next move.

"So how do we get to the Shinra building?" Tifa asked as she looked at Barret, Cloud and Zack for ideas.

"There ain't any trains that run up there anymore," Barret added, the whole group thought about how they could get to the Shinra building when Zack suddenly had an idea.

"Why don't we just go to the Wall Market?" He suggested, "I'm sure we'll be able to find something useful."

The group ran through the gate and back into Sector Five, half an hour later they were in the Wall Market again. They walked passed all the stalls and they couldn't find anything useful, plus everyone was staring at Zack every chance they got which eventually annoyed him to the point where he yelled at passers-by. "WHY DON'T YOU TAKE A PICTURE? IT'LL LAST LONGER!" The people in the vicinity all stared at Zack for a second before backing away and the group walked through to the other side of the market.

"You really know how to attract attention," Cloud said to Zack, Zack merely shrugged in response.

"I don't like being stared at," Zack replied, he was about to say more when Tifa interrupted him.

"Hey, why don't we try the weapon shop?" Tifa suggested, "they might have something."

The group entered the weapon shop, the shop clerks stared at Zack and were about to comment, however one evil glare from Zack made them change their minds and they returned to their work. Cloud glared at Zack.

"What?" Zack asked as he shrugged at Cloud, "I don't like being stared at." Cloud was about to respond when someone spoke to them.

"Hey, over here," a man behind the counter whispered to the group and they walked over to him, "you're going up to the plate ain't ya?"

"Who's asking?" Cloud asked abruptly not taking his eyes off the man.

"What I was gonna say was you'd better take some batteries if you're gonna go climbing up there," the man answered and he showed the group three batteries, all four of them looked at the batteries.

"So you're gonna sell us some crap that you probably found lying in a garbage heap," Zack muttered sarcastically as he stared sceptically at the batteries.

The man stared at Zack for a few seconds and then he grinned, "hey, you knew!" He yelled jokingly, "but they're still in pretty good condition."

"Somehow, I find that hard to believe," Zack said sceptically.

"Why would we need batteries to climb up the plate?" Cloud asked abruptly not taking his eyes off the salesman.

"You'll find out when you get up there," the man answered, "now, let's discuss a price, how about…100gil for each."

Zack stared at the man in both anger and shock, "What!" He yelled at the top of his lungs causing everyone in the shop to stop and stare at him. "That's fucking daylight robbery!"

"We'll take them," Cloud said quickly and he gave the man the money, the man grinned and he gave Cloud the batteries in exchange.

"Pleasure doing business with ya," the man said as the group left the shop, as soon as they were out Barret, Tifa and Cloud glared at Zack.

"It was daylight robbery though," Zack defended himself.

"Zack, you're attracting enough stares as it is!" Tifa snapped as she jabbed a finger into Zack's chest. "You yelling and cursing is just making it worse!"

"Look who's talking!" Zack retorted as he folded his arms and glared back at Tifa with his bright yellow eyes. "You're yelling right now!"

"Guys, just zip it!" Cloud yelled causing Tifa and Zack to shut up, "you two arguing isn't gonna help get Aerith back." Zack was about to open his mouth to say something when a kid came running up to the group.

"Hey! You wanna see something cool?" The kid asked the group hardly able to contain her excitement. "Follow me!" The kid ran off through a gap in the market and the group followed, they ended up in front of a giant wall. The girl was sat at the base of the wall and the group could see a long piece of wire dangling down. "My friends have already climbed the wire," she told the group, "but it looks really scary up there," she said as she shivered.

The group examined the wire and Tifa looked at the girl, "and we can climb this?" She asked.

The girl nodded, "yeah," she answered, "it leads to the plate above."

"Well there's no point in standing here," Zack stated impatiently as he walked towards the wire, "let's go save Aerith," he was about to leap on to the wire when Cloud stopped him.

"Wait," Cloud said as he followed the wire upwards with his eyes, "we can't climb this wire…you know how far up it goes."

Zack turned round a stared at Cloud, "what's the matter?" He asked half mockingly, "you chicken…"

"No!" Cloud snapped, "I just don't think that wire looks safe…"

"Zack's right," Barret agreed with the mutant, "there is a way," he pointed at the wire, "what does this wire look like to you?" Barret asked as Cloud walked closer to it.

"Just an ordinary piece of wire," Cloud stated causing Zack to snicker under his breath.

"Very observant Cloud," Zack muttered sarcastically, "I can see why you made it into SOLDIER First Class…_yeah…bullshit, you wouldn't even be here right now if it wasn't for me," _Zack said the last part to himself, _"you weren't really in SOLDIER, you're just pretending that you were, why? Stop lying already."_

Cloud glared at Zack and he was about to respond to the cryptic comment when Barret cut in. "Well it looks like a golden shiny wire of hope to me," Barret said to the group, Zack took another look at the wire.

"What are you colour blind?" Zack asked Barret, Barret glared at him.

"Are you gonna help or just be sarcastic?" He asked not taking his eyes off Zack.

"I think I'll be sarcastic," Zack answered, "it's fun." Barret shook his head and he turned away from Zack, Tifa took another look at the wire.

"Hmmm…you're right," Tifa said, agreeing with Barret, "it's the only way we can save Aerith."

"Ok, ok…" Cloud spoke up, "that was a bad analogy Barret…"

"Try a shit analogy," Zack cut in causing everyone to glare at him and he went quiet.

"But I understand how you feel," Cloud continued giving Barret a sympathetic look before he turned back to the wire. "Let's go," he stated and he started to climb the wire, followed by Tifa, then Barret.

"You guys can climb the wire if you want," Zack scoffed as his claws flew out of the slits in his gloves, he ran towards the wall and leapt stretching his arms out as he did so. His claws dug into the wall giving him a solid grip on said wall, he looked at the group, "but I'm taking the fun way." He began to scale the wall at top speed.

Cloud merely shook his head and he, Barret and Tifa began to climb the wire up the wall passing two other kids who were sat on the wall talking. "Oh man, this is horrible," one of the kids said to his friend who was sat on the wall next to him.

"Yeah," his friend agreed as the two kids continued to stare at the ruined Sector Seven. "My dad told me that this was all the Shinra's doing." Cloud, Tifa and Barret continued to climb up the wire, treading over debris, scaling propellers and placing the batteries in the appropriate places. Due to his speed and lightning fast reflexes Zack had already reached the top and he leaned against the wall folded his arms and closed his eyes as he waited patiently for Cloud, Barret and Tifa.

"_Damn," _Zack thought to himself, even though he had become more patient over the years, it still wasn't his strong point and though he showed no outwardly signs of being impatient he still felt impatient. _"These guys are just holding me back, it'll be a lot quicker and easier if I just go in there and save Aerith myself."_

"_But what about Cloud?" _Another voice, quite possibly his conscience spoke up. _"It's obvious that something's not right."_

"_Don't you think I know that?" _Zack asked his conscience, _"he's going around pretending that he's me, even though he's using his own name, he's living my life."_

"_Maybe he's not doing it out of choice," _his conscience warned him, _"the last time you saw him he was practically a puppet, he couldn't think for himself and now this, something tells me he still needs your help."_

"_Fine,"_ Zack gave in, _"but short of telling him the truth I'm not sure if there's anything I can do."_

"_Telling him the truth at this moment in time would only cause him more harm in the long run."_

"Zack!" A loud voice snapped Zack out of his thoughts, he opened his eyes and he turned his head to see Cloud, Tifa and Barret running up to him.

"Phew…" Barret panted, "you could've waited for us…" Barret said in between breaths glaring at Zack as he did so, "some of us aren't as young as we used to be."

"Or as fit…" Zack muttered under his breath, causing Barret to glare at him again.

"Knock it off you two!" Cloud snapped at Barret and Zack, "come on, let's get going." The group ran down the path and they arrived at the foot of the Shinra building.

"You two should know this building pretty well," Barret remarked as he and Tifa looked at Cloud and Zack.

"Actually," Cloud admitted, "this is the first time I've ever been here."

"I know this place," Zack replied with a hint of vehemence in his voice, "I know it very well, every floor above level 60 is special and is hard to get to even for employees," Zack explained, in all the years he had worked for Shinra, the layout of the building hadn't changed and Zack knew it like the back of his hand. "They must've taken Aerith up there."

"Well," Barret said as he walked towards the main entrance to the building, Zack reached out and grabbed Barret by the collar of his jacket.

"Hold it!" He yelled at Barret, "you can't just go barging in there, they'll catch us."

Barret glared at Zack out of the corner of his eye, "well what else do you suggest dragon breath?" Barret snapped at Zack, "I'm gonna kick some Shinra butt…"

"That's not gonna work," Tifa interrupted Barret, "we have to find another way in."

"Tifa…" Barret was about to put his case forward when Zack interrupted him.

"Barret, I understand how you feel and believe me no one wants to kick Shinra's ass more than I do, but Tifa's right, we can't rush into these things."

"But if we don't hurry Aerith will…" Barret pleaded.

"We know that," Tifa cut in again, "but if we're caught here…Oh forget it…" Tifa said with a sigh, "you guys do whatever you want."

"Come on guys," Cloud spoke up as he walked towards the main entrance holding on to the hilt of his sword as he did so, "let's burst on in and kick the shit out of Shinra."

"Now that's more like it!" Barret yelled as he struggled his way out of Zack's grip and followed Cloud, Zack merely shrugged at Tifa before he too followed them.

Tifa sighed and shook her head, "humph, men…" she complained under her breath, "why do I even bother?" Nevertheless she followed them and all four of them burst through the doors causing everyone in the reception area to stop what they were doing and stare at the group. Barret was in the lead and he pointed his gun arm in front of him, Cloud reached behind his back and pulled the Buster Sword off his back. Tifa got into a fighting stance and held her fists out in front of her, and Zack's claws sprang out of the slits in his gloves, he bared his teeth and he growled under his breath causing everyone in the room to panic slightly.

"Excuse me," the receptionist said to the group, "you can't just barge in here, you need an appointment, otherwise I'll have to ask you to…"

"We don't need an appointment fool!" Barret yelled at the receptionist.

"Yeah!" Zack added still making himself look as menacing as possible, "this is a rescue mission! Anyone who doesn't want to get sliced and diced, or shot, or mauled, having their heart ripped out or generally having the shit kicked out of them had better move out of the way!"

The receptionist gave Zack a frightened stare, "alright…" she said nervously, as she quietly reached down to below her desk, "I don't want any trouble…" She pushed a button under her desk and an alarm sounded.

"Intruder alert! Intruder alert! All units report to the reception area! Repeat all units report to the reception area!" A few seconds later and guards armed with shotguns ran into the reception area and they surrounded the group.

"You don't suppose that's Avalanche do you?" One of the guards asked his comrades.

"Who cares, just grab em!" His comrade ordered, the guards loaded their guns and they opened fire at the group. Everyone dodged out of the way, Cloud ran towards one of the soldiers and he leapt into the air dragging his sword behind him, he performed a Braver attack on the man bringing his sword down and cutting the soldier cleanly in half, both halves fell to the ground. Cloud grinned and he ran towards the next soldier, Barret stayed back and he pumped the soldiers with bullets, about a dozen fell to Barret's bullets. Tifa ducked and dodged the bullets that the soldiers were firing at her, she leapt into the air and she performed a powerful spinning kick right in the jaw of the nearest soldier breaking it. The soldier dropped the gun and he held his jaw in pain, Tifa then punched the guy in the neck breaking it, he fell to the ground lifeless. She ran to the next soldier, drove one of her feet into the man's stomach and performed a somersault on him. The man fell to the floor winded, Zack then leapt out of nowhere, his claws were outstretched as he landed on the ground next to the soldier's stomach and he dug his claws deep into the man's chest, a few seconds later he pulled out his claws holding the soldier's heart in his hand.

"Talk about a heart stopper," Zack commented as he threw the heart over his shoulder. Tifa was so busy staring at the now heartless soldier that she didn't notice another soldier creeping up behind her brandishing a rapier. "Tifa look out!" Zack yelled, Tifa quickly turned round and she dodged out of the way just as the soldier brought his rapier down. Zack quickly formed a fireball in his mouth and he breathed out a long stream of it burning not only the soldier with the rapier but several other soldiers that were in the line of fire. Tifa stared at Zack again. "You can thank me later," Zack spoke up as he elbowed another guy in the face knocking him out. After a while Zack, Cloud, Barret and Tifa were stood in the reception area surrounded by the bodies of soldiers.

"Let's get to the next level," Barret said as the group ran up the stairs to the lift, Tifa pushed the button and a few seconds later the lift arrived, the group got into the lift. Cloud pushed the button and the lift began to rise, "Phew that was close," Barret replied cheerfully, "but we…" He stopped when he saw Cloud and Zack hanging their heads. "What's the matter with you miserable gits?" He demanded not taking his eyes off Cloud and Zack.

"This isn't what I wanted at all," Zack said with a sigh, he and Cloud turned round to face Barret and Tifa. "I mean, I'm all for kicking Shinra's ass but…"

"We didn't want to start a ruckus until we save Aerith," Cloud added, Barret started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Zack and Cloud demanded in unison as they both glared at Barret, they were both stood in exactly the same pose.

"So there is a time when even ex SOLDIERs care about other people," Barret answered as he finally managed to control his laughter. "I guess I was wrong about you guys."

"Who cares about what you think!" Cloud snapped at Barret, "let's just save Aerith so we can get out of here." An alarm in the lift suddenly sounded, and the lift started to go out of control.

"What's happening?" Tifa asked as she, Cloud, Zack and Barret held on to the side of the lift for dear life. Zack looked at the screen to see that the floor numbers were whizzing passed.

"Something's happened to the lift!" Zack replied, "Look!" He pointed to the screen and everyone saw it.

"Someone do something!" Tifa yelled as Cloud pushed the button, after several unscheduled stops and battles the group had finally reached the 59th floor and they all staggered out of the lift.

"So we're all in agreement," Zack said as the group crept down the corridor, "next time we take the stairs." They turned round the corner and they saw another lift guarded by more soldiers.

"Great…" Tifa muttered as she saw the guards, "how are we gonna get passed them?"

"Just leave that to me," Zack whispered back as he crept over to the guards, the guards were so busy guarding the lift that they didn't even see Zack approach them until a fist came flying out of nowhere and hit one of the guards in the face causing him to slam back first into the wall and slump to the ground unconscious. Zack then leapt on to the ceiling and crawled along it, the second guard got his gun out and he started firing in all directions, fortunately Zack was able to dodge the bullets easily and he leapt off the ceiling and planted both of his feet in the guard's face knocking him out cold. Zack leapt off the man's face and he landed soundlessly on his feet, he grinned smugly as Cloud, Tifa and Barret ran up to him.

"You sure know how to clear a room," Cloud said wittily, "hey, it looks like one of the guards dropped something," Zack looked down and he saw a card on the floor next to one of the guards, he bent down and picked it up.

"Keycard 60…" Zack read the writing on the card, "we can get to the next floor with this come on," Zack pushed the button on the lift and the lift arrived, the group entered the lift and Zack pushed the button saying level 60 on it and the lift started to move up to its destination.

"We finally made it," Cloud said heaving a huge sigh of relief.

"I hope Aerith's ok," Tifa replied her voice was filled with concern for her new friend.

"Don't worry," Zack said reassuringly, although deep down he wasn't sure what Shinra had planned for her, all he knew was that they had to get Aerith out of there before Shinra did something terrible, "she'll be fine…_I hope," _Zack said this last part to himself, _"I was too late, I should've spoke to her when I saw her in Sector Five, then none of this would've happened."_

"Alright guys," Barret gave the group a pep talk, "this is the real thing so don't let your guard down."

"We know the drill Barret!" Cloud snapped at Barret as he held the hilt of his sword with his hand. "You don't have to give us a pep talk every time."

"I was only…" Barret began to retort but Tifa stopped him.

"Barret…you're not making it any easier," Tifa stated, "we know what to do."

"Guys can you just stop arguing?" Zack pleaded as he rested his head against the glass window, "this isn't gonna help Aerith."

"It looks like we're almost there," Tifa remarked quickly changing the subject, the group looked at the screen to see the number 59 change to 60. "Ok, the door should be opening now," there was a pinging sound and the lift door opened, the group stepped out of the lift and out on to the corridor.

"_Hang on Aerith, we're on our way," _Zack said to himself as he followed Cloud, Barret and Tifa down the corridor and he knew that they were one step closer to saving Aerith.

* * *

**Chapter 3 is complete, they've already reached the 60****th**** floor despite all the battles they faced and almost getting caught by Shinra. Will they be able to save Aerith before it's too late or will they caught themselves? And what really happened when Zack was experimented on before he escaped from the Shinra building. Find out in chapter 4 which will be coming soon. Just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.**


	4. A Ghastly Sight

**Chapter 4: A Ghastly Sight**

Zack, Cloud, Tifa and Barret continued to walk down the corridor on the 60th floor, they were all constantly alert as they knew that Shinra Headquarters was a dangerous place, but they had to navigate through it in order to save Aerith. Fortunately, Zack knew Shinra Headquarters relatively well and he was able to guide them as best he could. When they reached the end of the corridor Zack suddenly stopped, Tifa and Cloud saw this and they also stopped.

Why are we stopping?" Tifa asked as she stared intently at Zack.

"Sssshhhhhh…" Zack said as he placed a finger on his lips, Barret however carried on walking but Zack reached out and stopped him. "Don't go any further," he whispered to Barret.

"Why not?" Barret demanded as he glared Zack, "I thought you wanted to save Aerith."

"I also don't want to get caught," Zack replied, "look over there," he pointed straight ahead of him and they all saw guards pacing round. "That's why I stopped, Shinra are big on security even when it seems light."

"So how do we get passed them?" Tifa asked.

Zack and Cloud began to look at their surroundings, "Looks like there's a room over there," Zack said and the four of them crept towards the room next to where the guards were.

"Phew," Cloud heaved a huge sigh of relief, "that was close, if we'd have been caught now who knows what could've happened."

Barret was looking out of a small window next to a door on the other side of the room. "He, he…" he snickered to himself, "just look at em, running around like jackasses, Cloud why don't you go first, and then signal us when it's safe."

Cloud cracked his knuckles, "not a problem, you guys wait here," he opened the door and he crept out of the room. He crept passed the guards hiding behind the busts of pallas so that he wouldn't get caught. Once he was safely on the other side he motioned with his hands to the others and Tifa, followed by Barret, followed by Zack crept passed the guards, eventually they all reached the other side and they ran into the next room where they saw a flight of stairs.

"Alright, we're gonna rock!" Barret yelled enthusiastically.

"Just remember we're here to save Aerith," Tifa reminded him.

"Hell I know that!" Barret snapped at Tifa.

"And knowing the Shinra," Zack cut in, trying to remember where the Shinra took any of their captives, "they'll have taken Aerith to the upper floors, something tells me this is gonna be far from easy, we still have a long way to go."

"Way to put a dampener on things Lizard boy!" Barret snapped at Zack, Zack glared at Barret.

"Don't call me that…" Zack retorted through gritted teeth, "the name is Zack."

"Let's just get going," Cloud quickly cut in, "the sooner we get up there the sooner we can rescue Aerith." Cloud started to walk up the stairs and everyone else followed him. After climbing the stairs they eventually reached the door to the 61st floor, Cloud placed the card key into the card key reader but it just bleeped. "Huh…" Cloud muttered and he took the card key out and put it in again, the same thing happened, "hmmm…"

Zack sighed as he watched Cloud's futile attempts to open the door, _"this is getting us know where!" _He said to himself, "Errr…Cloud, what floor is this?" He asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"The 61st floor," Cloud answered as he turned round to look at Zack, "why?" He asked.

"And the card key is for the 60th floor, right?" Zack continued to ask, still with a hint of sarcasm.

"What's your point Zack?!" Cloud demanded starting to get annoyed at Zack's cryptic remarks.

"Well if the card key only works up to floor 60 then it's not gonna work on the 61st first floor," Zack answered just as frustrated.

"So where is the card key for the 61st floor?" Tifa asked Zack.

"Well I don't know," Zack answered mockingly, "why don't we ask the invisible man, or Dorian Grey!" He pointed at a picture of President Shinra on the wall.

Tifa scowled at Zack, "I was only asking there's no need to be sarcastic!"

"Alright then smart ass!" Cloud snapped as he stepped away from the door, "you find a way to get through the door!"

Zack cracked his knuckles, "piece of cake," his claws sprang out from the slits in his gloves, "just leave it to me." He walked up to the door and he dug his claws into it. A loud screeching sound could be heard as Zack's claws cut through door as though it was butter. Once Zack had cut through it he removed his claws from the door and he kicked it, the door fell to the floor and the group looked into the room to see that everyone within said room was staring at the massive hole where the door used to be.

Zack looked behind him to see Cloud, Barret and Tifa staring at him, their eyes were wide with shock. "How…the hell…did you do that!?" Barret yelled as he looked at the hole where the door used to be, to Zack and back at the hole again.

Zack ignored Barret and he walked through the hole he had made in the door, Cloud, Tifa and Barret stood there staring at him for a few seconds before they too walked through the hole. Zack stomped up to the guy who was nearest to him, he grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt and he pinned him to the wall. "Where's Aerith?!" Zack demanded as he slammed the man's back into the wall.

"Please don't hurt me…" The man whimpered in fear as he stared right into Zack's yellow, Mako enhanced eyes. "I'll do whatever you want…"

"Zack! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Cloud yelled as he, Barret and Tifa walked over to him, Zack ignored them and he kept pumping the guy he was holding for information.

"I…I'm just a low level employee…" The man explained nervously, "I don't know anything about this Aerith…"

"Not good enough…" Zack hissed menacingly in the man's ears, the man's whimpers grew louder and it took the combined efforts of Cloud, Barret and Tifa to pull Zack off him. The man slumped to the floor and Tifa helped him up.

"Sorry, about our friend," Tifa apologised on Zack's behalf, she quickly glared at the drag human before she turned to face the man again. "He's new to the whole negotiation thing, he's more of a...maul first, ask questions later kind of guy."

"Yeah," Cloud added, "we're the Shinra Inc Repair Division," Cloud said, hoping the man would fall for it.

The man suddenly smiled, "I was wondering where you'd gotten to," he said, "when your friend was attacking me and asking me where Aerith was I was scared."

"Like we said before," Barret told the man, "Our friend is very impatient."

"And who is this Aerith anyway?" The man asked curiously.

"She's a good friend of ours," Tifa answered telling a half truth, "she's a receptionist that works here, she told us to meet her here after work but I guess she must've gone home."

"Yeah, hey the door over there was suddenly cut open, do you think you could fix it right away?" The man asked staring at the foursome hopefully.

"We'll get right on it," Cloud told the man and he grinned again.

"Oh, and take a look on the other floors while you're at it," the man said cheerfully to the group, "you can even have my Keycard if you want." He gave Cloud his Keycard, Cloud looked at the card and he saw the number 62 on it.

"Thanks," Cloud replied gratefully as Tifa grabbed Zack by the ear and dragged him back to where the stair case was, Barret and Cloud shook their heads trying hard not to laugh as they followed Tifa and Zack.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" Zack cried out in pain as Tifa continued to drag him, as soon as they were at the stairs again, Tifa released his ear. "What was that for?!" He demanded as he glared at Tifa.

"So much for not making a scene!" Tifa yelled at Zack as she jabbed at Zack's chest with her index finger. "What were you thinking?!" Zack merely shrugged in response.

"Hey, I'm an ex SOLDIER, I don't think, I act!" Zack argued back, "sometimes you have to be impulsive to get what you want in life!"

"Well now's not the time to be impulsive!" Tifa retorted, "you could've gotten caught!"

"Well I didn't ok!" Zack snapped back, "besides, don't tell me you were worried about me…" Zack said, a little more flirtatious than he had hoped, but he thought that like all women, Tifa was cute when she was angry.

Tifa gave Zack a hard dig in the stomach, "Don't flattered yourself!" She yelled at Zack, "why should I be worried about you?!"

Zack was about to respond but Cloud stopped him, "Can you two please stop arguing?!" He demanded as he looked from Zack to Tifa, fortunately Cloud didn't pick up Zack's flirtatious comment towards Tifa. "We need to rescue Aerith!"

Zack and Tifa put their differences aside and the group continued to walk up the stairs. As soon as they reached the 62nd floor Cloud placed the cardkey into the cardkey reader, there was a loud ding sound and the door opened. Cloud, Zack, Barret and Tifa stepped out on to the 62nd floor and looked around.

"Now I remember what this floor is," Zack stated as they walked passed the nearest room.

"What is this floor?" Tifa asked him completely forgetting the argument they had moments ago.

"Well," Zack answered as he remembered the layout of the 62nd floor, "the room we just passed was one of the four libraries and the mayor's office is further up."

"The mayor…" Barret and Tifa asked staring at Zack in disbelief.

Zack nodded, "yeah, we should be approaching his office right about now," they approached a door with a plaque next to it with the words "Mayor's Office" carved into it. Cloud pushed the door open and the group entered the office, the mayor was busy placing some files into his filing cabinet, but when he saw Cloud and the others the files fell out of his hands. Zack's quick reflexes kicked in and he caught every single file before they fell to the floor, he then handed them back to the mayor.

"Thank you young…" The mayor started to thank Zack but when he saw him close up he hesitated.

"It's ok," Cloud told the mayor, "he's a friend of ours, he won't hurt you."

"I see…" the mayor stated as he gave Zack another sceptical stare, "and who might you all be?" He asked looking from Zack, to Cloud, to Tifa and then Barret.

"I'm Cloud," Cloud introduced himself, "And this is Tifa," he pointed to Tifa, "Barret," he pointed to Barret who merely nodded in response, "and Zack," Cloud pointed to Zack who merely grunted in reply.

"I'm mayor Domino," the mayor told the group his name, "I'm the mayor of Midgar."

"Well duh…" Zack muttered under his breath, Cloud heard this and he scowled at Zack.

Fortunately the mayor didn't hear Zack's sarcastic comment so he continued, "actually," he stated more truthfully and modestly, "I'm just mayor by name only, the city and everything in it is really run by the Shinra."

"Is there anything they don't control?" Zack asked as he looked round the room hoping for an answer.

"The fucking Shinra control the whole damn planet," Barret answered as he stroked his gun arm.

"Barret…" Tifa scolded Barret, the man merely shrugged at her, "watch your language!"

"Anyway…" mayor Domino continued, "as you can see my only real job is to watch and sort out all of Shinra's documents, me…the mayor…a librarian!" The mayor shouted this last part as though it was a ridiculous notion.

"So what's in those files?" Zack asked curiously as Mayor Domino placed them into the filing cabinet and quickly closed it.

"Errr…" mayor Domino stuttered trying to come up with a response, "it's private," he finally answered. "You want to go upstairs right?" He asked as he quickly changed the subject.

Cloud nodded, "yeah that's right," he replied and Mayor Domino suddenly smiled.

"Well you've come to the right place!" He stated importantly, "it just so happens that I have a spare cardkey on me, if you can guess my secret word, I'll give it to you, free of charge."

"Oh joy…" Zack muttered as he rolled his eyes, "we're supposed to be saving Aerith from a grizzly fate and we get to play a guessing game…"

"Come on Zack," Cloud replied as he stared at Zack, "it's not like we have any other choice," he then turned to the mayor, "is the word Best?"

"Best!" The mayor repeated loudly and a smile crept on to his face, "I love the sound of that word! "I am the best…ME! No matter what anyone else says!" He then shook Cloud warmly by the hand, "I never thought anyone would guess the word on the first try."

"So what do we get for playing your little guessing game?" Zack asked sarcastically causing everyone in the room to glare at him.

"We got the Keycard!" Tifa snapped at him growing increasingly annoyed at his sarcasm, "that's enough isn't it?"

"Right…" Mayor Domino said, unsure of what to say, then he remembered, "why would I do this?" He asked, "why to get back at them of course!" He exclaimed excitedly, "now get up there and give them hell for me!"

"Now that's a promise we intend to keep!" Barret yelled happily as he stroked his gun arm, Tifa flexed her fists, Zack flexed his claws and Cloud reached for the handle of his sword. They left the mayor's office and they made their way back to the staircase again.

"I think we can miss the next three floors," Zack stated as they walked passed the 63rd floor and before anyone else could say anything.

"Why?" Tifa asked curiously as she, Cloud and Barret stared at Zack.

"Because," Zack answered as the group continued to walk up the stairs, "the 63rd floor has this annoying computer which only allows you to open three doors at anyone time, and it hasn't been repaired for over six years last time I checked."

"And why's that fool?" Barret asked, he too was curious about why Zack wanted to skip the next three floors.

"Because one time I got so pissed off with the damn thing that I hacked it to bits with my oh my god what the fuck sword!" Zack explained, Cloud, Barret and Tifa were trying hard not to laugh.

"And what's on the 64th floor?" Tifa continued to ask Zack.

"Well," Zack began to explain as they passed the 64th floor, "the 64th floor is a gym and unless you want to work out your…" He looked at Tifa's chest area as he tried to think of the right words, "…upper body area then there's not really much in there."

Tifa realised that Zack was looking at her chest area and she scowled at him, she was tempted to punch him in the jaw but she resisted it, "and what's that supposed to mean?!" She demanded as she glared at Zack.

"Errr…nothing…" Zack stammered, "Anyway…" He quickly changed the subject, "the 65th floor contains an incomplete model of Midgar that you need to complete to get the cardkey to the 66th floor."

"So why don't we just complete the puzzle and get the cardkey?" Cloud asked but Zack shook his head.

"Why bother?" Zack questioned, "when we have our very own picklock right here," Zack's claws sprang out as he said this.

"Yeah," Cloud stated with a grin, "if that's what you call breaking the door down…"

Zack glared at Cloud, "Ha, ha!" He laughed sarcastically, "funny…" the group carried on walking as they passed the 65th floor and they eventually reached the 66th floor. "Ok guys, stand back," Zack warned as he walked towards the door and dug his claws into it. A loud screeching noise could be heard as Zack cut through the door with his claws, after a minute the door fell to the floor and the group stepped through it. They walked down the corridor until they passed a large door, they could hear muffled voices on the other side of it.

"Sounds like they're starting a meeting," Zack stated as they carried on walking down the corridor.

"I wonder what the meeting's about," Tifa whispered half to herself, they eventually arrived at a door which said "bathroom" on the door. Tifa pushed the door open and she, Cloud, Barret and Zack entered the room.

"Errr Tifa…" Zack began awkwardly, "you do know this is the men's bathroom…right?"

"Yeah I know," Tifa answered, "And at this moment in time I don't really care." They all peeped into one of the cubicles and they saw a small vent above the toilet.

"Up there?" Zack questioned as he stared at the small hole above them, "there's no way I can fit in that thing, I'd get stuck half way through."

"I can't fit in there either," Cloud also stated.

"Nor me," Barret cut in, all three men looked hopefully at Tifa who sighed.

"Fine…" she said in an exasperated tone, "I'll go, but no peaking!" She yelled as she glared at Zack in particular, she climbed on to the toilet seat and she climbed into the vent, Tifa had a hard time crawling through the vent because of her large upper chest area which pressed her back against the top of the vent. Tifa didn't realise that because she was wearing a miniskirt her underwear was showing until she could hear wolf whistling coming from the bathroom.

"Looking good Tifa!" Zack called up to her, "especially from this angle!" Tifa grumbled to herself as she continued to crawl through the vent.

"Yeah Tifa," Cloud agreed, "you do look great!"

Tifa shook her head as she finally reached the end of the vent and she listened in on the meeting in the room below her. Ten minutes later she crawled back through the vents and she carefully dropped down on the toilet seat and she stood back on the floor again. She walked over to Zack and before he could react she punched him hard in the face. Zack smirked at her but a trail of blood trickled out of his left nostril causing him to cry out in pain and grab hold of his nose.

"Ow!" Zack cried out in a muffled voice, "what was that for?"

"You know very well what that was for!" Tifa snapped at Zack who was still holding his nose and blood seeped through his fingers.

"I think you broke my nose…" He complained in that same muffled voice.

"Oh believe me a broken nose will be the least of your worries if you whistle at me again dragon boy!" Tifa threatened as she waved her fist at him.

"Ok…now you're just splitting hairs," Zack said in an offended tone.

Cloud sighed as he took his armlet off and put a piece of cure materia into it before attaching it back to his arm, "cure," Cloud said as a green light appeared on Zack's nose, after it disappeared his nose had stopped bleeding and was completely healed.

"That's better," Zack replied gratefully as he let go of his nose.

"What did you see?" Cloud asked Tifa quickly changing the subject.

"Well all the executives were talking about the destruction of Sector Seven," Tifa explained as she began to tell Cloud, Barret and Zack everything she had seen and heard. "They said that they weren't gonna rebuild it and that they were gonna build Neo Midgar."

"Neo Midgar…" Zack said as he gave Tifa a questioning stare.

"I'm not sure what it is exactly," Tifa answered truthfully, "but it can't be good, they said that they were going to raise the Mako rate in each area."

"Damn Shinra!" Barret yelled as he punched the nearby wall, "they won't stop until they've trampled over honest, hard working people."

"Then this guy in a white coat showed up," Tifa continued to tell them everything, "then everything became scientific, I think his name was Hojo."

"Hojo…" Cloud and Zack exclaimed in perfect unison, Tifa nodded and Barret turned to face the two ex SOLDIERS.

"You guys know him?" Barret asked curiously.

"He's the Head of the Science Department," Zack answered, "what was he saying in the meeting?"

"He said something about the subject being inferior to an earlier subject," Tifa answered she was still confused by what she had heard. "He said that he was planning on breeding her to create a specimen that could withstand many years of research."

"Was he talking about Aerith?" Cloud questioned.

"If he was then she's in grave danger," Zack replied, "we have to get to the next floor and get her out of there before Hojo gets his filthy paws on her." With no more time to waste the group left the bathroom and they ran passed the now empty meeting room. However when they were nearly at the stairs they stopped and hid round the corner as they saw someone open the door which led to the stairs.

"There he is," Tifa whispered so that the man wouldn't hear her, "that's the man that was in the meeting."

"Hojo…" Zack muttered under his breath as he gritted his teeth and flexed his claws. Cloud, Barret and Tifa looked at him.

"Are you ok Zack?" Tifa asked her voice was filled with concern.

"I'm fine," Zack replied a little more gruffly than he intended and he immediately regretted it, "sorry," he apologised, "it's just that…"

"You're not a big fan of Hojo," Barret finished his sentence for him.

Zack looked at Barret, "I guess you can say that," Zack replied vaguely.

"And what about you?" Barret turned to Cloud, "do you know him?"

"I only know him by name," Cloud answered, "this is the first time I've actually seen him, so that's what he looks like."

"Come on, let's follow him and see what he's up to," Tifa suggested and the four of them followed Hojo up the stairs, when they reached the 67th floor they were relieved to find that the door opened automatically. They continued to follow Hojo down the corridor until they entered a lab, Hojo stopped when he came to a large glass tube containing a red lion like creature which was just lying in the centre of the tube fast asleep. Cloud, Zack, Barret and Tifa hid behind some boxes as another man in a white lab coat entered the lab and stood behind Hojo.

"Is that today's specimen?" The man asked as he gazed into the tube nervously.

Hojo turned round to face the man, "yes," he answered, "we'll be starting right away, raise the specimen to the upper level," Hojo ordered.

"Yes professor," the man said and he quickly left the lab.

Hojo turned his attention back to the creature within the tube and he pressed his face against the glass. "My precious specimen…" Hojo stated pompously as he gently tapped the glass before he turned round and left the room. As soon as the coast was clear, Cloud, Zack, Barret and Tifa came out of their hiding place. Tifa walked up to the glass tube where the creature was imprisoned and she gently tapped on the glass with her finger.

"Precious specimen…" she repeated Hojo's last words, she then turned to face the others, "is it going to be used in an experiment?" She asked feeling sorry for the beast.

Zack and Barret walked over to the glass and looked at the poor creature, "it looks like it," Barret stated.

"It doesn't matter if it's human or animal," Zack stated a little sadly, "Hojo will experiment on it."

Cloud however wasn't listening a giant metal dome shaped container with a single door caught his eye and he felt himself being drawn to it. A bright blue-purple light shone through the small round window in the door. "Jenova…" Cloud whispered the name and he looked through the window to see the headless body of what looked like a woman with blue skin. Cloud stepped away from the container in both fear and shock, his body was shaking violently, he held his head as a high pitched screeching sound pierced his ears causing him to collapse to his knees. Tifa, Barret and Zack turned round to see Cloud lying on the floor and they ran over to him.

"Cloud!" Tifa shouted in a worried tone as she grabbed hold of Cloud's shoulders, Cloud opened his eyes and he slowly sat up, "are you ok?" She asked him as she continued to support him.

"Jenova…" Cloud stuttered in a panicky tone, "Sephiroth's…so they brought it here…"

"Cloud, be strong…take deep breaths ok," Tifa replied reassuringly.

Cloud looked up at Zack and Barret who were giving Cloud a mixture of confused and concerned looks, "did you see it?" He asked them both.

"See what?" Barret asked as he shrugged his shoulders.

"It's moving…" Cloud muttered still scared, "still alive…"

"Let me see," Zack replied as he walked over to the glass and looked through it, his eyes grew wide in shock as he saw the same headless blue skinned woman. "No…" Zack mumbled half to himself.

* * *

(Flashback)

_Zack entered a room at the far end of a reactor to see a man with long silver hair wearing a black uniform standing in front of a giant glass tube which contained a strange looking blue skinned woman with long sliver hair, red eyes and wearing a helmet with the name J.E.N.O.V.A. engraved in it._

"_Sephiroth!" Zack yelled at his former commander, "what the hell did you think you were playing at?_

"_Humph," Sephiroth uttered without even turning round, "they've come again mother…" And he started laughing manically._

_Zack glared at Sephiroth, "how could you do this Sephiroth?! I trusted you!"_

_Sephiroth stopped laughing, "pitiful fool!" Sephiroth yelled at Zack as he finally turned to face him, "don't you see, I've been granted unlimited power by my mother, I finally have a purpose in life, to take back what's rightfully mother's…WHAT'S RIGHTFULLY MINE!"_

"_That thing is your mother?!" Zack asked as he stared at the thing in disgust, "Don't you see what you're doing?! You've become mad with power! The Sephiroth I know would never give in to such corruption, and I once respected you!" Zack grabbed his sword off his back and he pointed it at Sephiroth._

"_Ha, ha, ha!" Sephiroth laughed at Zack, "you, a mere kid challenge me!"_

"_I hoped it wouldn't have to come to this," Zack stated sadly as he continued to stare at Sephiroth, "but if this is the only way to stop you, then so be it." Sephiroth withdrew his massively long sword and with a cry the two men charged forwards and their swords met with an almighty clang…_

* * *

"_Jenova's cells will make humans and animals stronger, faster and smarter…"_

"_Jenova specimens are puppets and Jenova's the puppet master…"_

"_Even if Jenova's body is dismembered, its cells are still slaves to its will…_

* * *

(End flashback)

Zack turned away from Jenova in disgust, _"that thing has ruined so many lives," _Zack thought to himself, _"even now after five years it's still here causing trouble." _Barret pushed passed Zack and he took a look for himself.

"What the…" Barret yelled as he came away from the window and stared at the others, "where's its fucking head?! If you ask me this whole thing is stupid, let's get moving!"

Cloud staggered to his feet and the group walked to the other side of the room until they came across an elevator. "You think that'll take us to the next floor?" Tifa asked as she looked at the three men.

"Yeah," Cloud replied as he pushed the button to open the elevator doors, the group stepped into the elevator and the door closed, Cloud pressed the button and the elevator went up. As soon as it got to the next floor the doors opened and the group stepped out of it to find themselves in another area of the lab, they saw Hojo stood next to another glass tube similar to the one on the floor below them and in the glass tube was none other than…

"Aerith!" Zack and Cloud yelled at the same time causing Hojo to turn round and spot them.

"Aerith…" Hojo repeated the name then he grinned at the group, "is that her name? What do you want?"

"We're gonna take Aerith back!" Cloud yelled at Hojo as Zack sprang forwards and grabbed Hojo by the throat, he then pinned the scientist to the wall.

"Remember me Hojo?" Zack asked as he whispered menacingly in Hojo's ear.

"Hmmm…" Hojo mused, apparently unfazed by Zack's assault on him, "you do look familiar to me…" Zack slammed Hojo's back against the wall.

"Shut up!" Zack yelled at Hojo, "Now release Aerith, or I'll rip your lungs out!" As Zack made his threat Cloud and Barret stepped forwards with their weapons drawn.

"Are you going to kill me?" Hojo asked Zack, Cloud and Barret, "I don't think you should, this equipment is extremely delicate who would operate it without me hmmm…"

"Grrrrrr…" Zack growled angrily but he knew that Hojo was right so he released him and stepped back as Hojo slid down the wall, he slowly stood up and adjusted his lab coat.

"That's right," Hojo said triumphantly, "I suggest you think things through before you make any rash moves. "Now bring in the specimen!" The group could hear the sound of an elevator as the same red creature that they saw earlier appeared in the tube near Aerith. It was now fully awake and it was staring at Aerith poised as if ready to pounce. Aerith ran to the edge of the tube as the beast started to run after her, Cloud, Barret, Tifa and Zack ran up to the tube as they saw Aerith running round the tube and banging frantically on the glass whenever she was close to it.

"Guys help!" Aerith yelled desperately as the beast continued to chase her.

Cloud, Barret, Zack and Tifa turned round to glare at Hojo, "what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Cloud demanded as Hojo walked up to them with an evil grin on his face.

"Why helping out endangered species of course," Hojo said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, "without me these creatures would disappear."

"Creatures!" Tifa yelled angrily at Hojo, "that's a terrible thing to say, Aerith is a human being!"

"If anyone's the animal Hojo, it's you!" Zack yelled at the scientist.

"You're gonna pay fool!" Barret shouted in agreement.

"Can't you guys do something?" Cloud pleaded with Zack and Barret.

"Just leave it to us Cloud," Barret stated as he ran to one side of the tube and Zack ran to the other.

"Stop!" Hojo yelled at them, Barret and Zack attacked the tube at the same time, Barret pumped it with bullets and Zack slashed at it repeatedly with his claws. An alarm sounded and the tube glowed as it started to malfunction, Hojo ran to the tube staring at it frantically trying to see if his specimens were still alive. "My precious specimens!" Hojo yelled, the light dimmed as the door opened and the red beast jumped on to Hojo and started attacking him throwing him completely off guard.

"Cloud!" Zack yelled to Cloud, "grab Aerith while we have the chance!"

"Ok!" Cloud yelled back as he ran into the tube, he ran up to Aerith and he knelt down beside her, "are you ok?" He asked her.

Aerith sat up and she nodded, "I'm fine," she answered and she smiled at Cloud, "somehow I knew you'd come for me," and she ran out of the tube. Cloud was about to follow her when he heard the sound of the elevator.

"What the…" Cloud stated as he stepped back out of the tube, "there's something coming."

"This is no ordinary specimen!" Hojo yelled in a panicked tone, "it's a very vicious specimen."

"It's quite tough so I'll help out," A voice suddenly spoke up, the group looked around and they were surprised to discover that the voice was coming from the red beast.

"It…talked…" Tifa replied in shock as she voiced what everyone was thinking.

"I'll talk as much as you want later miss," the red beast replied as a giant monster smashed through the glass tube and stared hungrily at the group. "Right now we've got a monster to take care of."

"What's your name?" Cloud asked the beast.

"Hojo called me Red XIII," Red XIII answered, "it has no meaning what so ever, call me whatever you please."

"How about we call you Red for short?" Cloud suggested, Red nodded to show that he was ok with the suggestion. Cloud turned to Aerith and Tifa, "Tifa, get Aerith out of here, we'll take care of that monster!" Tifa nodded, she grabbed Aerith by the hand and took her to safety as Cloud, Barret, Zack and Red stood side by side as the monster charged at them.

Cloud, Zack and Red charged at the beast while Barret stayed in the rear and pumped it with bullets and to heal everyone should they need it. The monster tried to perform its shady breath on everyone but Barret was wearing an amulet that protected against poison and Cloud, Zack and Red were too quick for the attack. Cloud leapt into the air, dragging his sword behind him and slammed his sword down on the beast with a Braver attack, it caused a bit of damage but the beast was still going strong and it managed to knock Cloud out of the way. Red ran at the beast at top speed and sped right through it with his Sled Fang attack he came out the other side and he quickly leapt to the side as it tried to crush him with its large tail. Barret focused some energy into his gun arm and he sent out a large beam of energy at the monster, it roared in pain and it stomped towards Barret but something was holding it back. It turned behind it to see Zack holding on to its tail, the beast tried to attack him with its claws but Zack leapt out of the way, he took a deep breath and a bright orange ball formed in his mouth, he opened his mouth and shot out a jet of fire at the beast completely engulfing it in flames.

The beast turned its attention to Cloud but by then he had come to his senses and dodged the beast's shady breath attack. He leapt right over the beast and landed next to Zack and Red all three of them grinned they looked over at Barret who was also grinning. Cloud, Zack and Red all charged forwards at the same time as Barret focused another ball of energy in his gun arm. Zack grabbed Cloud's arm and threw him into the air, Barret released the energy from his gun arm to cause more damage to the beast while Zack and Red swept its feet out from underneath it, Cloud then performed an overhead strike right in the beast's chest killing it. Cloud landed safely on both feet, he, Zack, Red and Barret were panting as Aerith and Tifa came running back. Fortunately Zack saw them coming from a mile off and he quickly retreated to a shadowy spot before Aerith and Tifa stopped next to the group.

"Aerith are you alright?" Cloud asked as he walked up to her.

"She seems to be fine in many ways," Tifa replied.

"I have a right to decide too," Red cut in, "I don't like two legged things."

"What the hell are you?" Barret asked as he stared at Red still in shock that he could talk.

"An informed question," Red answered vaguely, "I am what you see."

"So because you look like a lion," Barret replied, "does that mean you're a lion?"

"If that's what you see me as," Red stated, "I'm sure you all have many questions, but first let's get out of here."

"Thanks for saving me," Aerith replied gratefully as she kissed Cloud on the cheek, little did she know was that Zack watched her from the shadows.

Red walked passed them and he looked at Aerith as he headed for the exit, "I apologise for what happened back there," Red apologised to Aerith, "I was merely acting to throw Hojo off guard."

Aerith smiled at Red, "that's ok," she accepted his apology and she stroked him behind the ears, Red closed his eyes and growled softly under his breath, he appeared to enjoy the attention, Aerith was then aware of someone watching her in the shadows. She looked up to see a pair of yellow eyes. "Are you ok?" She asked, Zack didn't answer, he merely nodded in response, he didn't want to face Aerith, not yet, not until he was sure she still had feelings for him.

"Red's right," Barret agreed with the beast, "now that we've rescued Aerith there's no point in staying here any longer, let's head back to the 66th floor elevator." The group walked out of the lab, Zack was careful to walk a short distance behind the rest of the group and he stayed in the shadows whenever he could. The group had eventually reached the 66th floor elevator.

"Hold it right there!" A voice yelled, the group turned round to see a bald man wearing a blue suit and sunglasses walking up to them, he was flanked with Shinra guards.

"Shit!" Cloud cursed, "it's the Turks."

"Grab them!" The man in the suit yelled as the guards walked up and began to handcuff everyone. Zack was a few feet behind the group and he looked at his hands to find them disappearing.

"_What the…" _Zack thought to himself a little frightened at what was happening to him, _"what's going on?" _He looked down to see that the rest of his body was disappearing and by the time the guards had reached him he had completely disappeared.

"Hey!" One of the guards yelled as they searched everywhere for Zack. "Where did the other guy go?!"

"Leave him for now!" A different voice spoke, everyone turned round to see another man with long black hair and wearing a blue suit, "we've got the others."

"Yes Mr Tseng," The guards said in perfect unison, Tseng smiled at the group.

"It must've been a real thrill for you, did you enjoy it?" He asked cheerfully.

"Grrrrrr…" Cloud growled at Tseng, but the Turk merely smiled again.

"Take them to the president," Tseng ordered, "I'm sure he'd be very interested to speak to you." Tseng walked off and the guards dragged their captives away, but what they didn't know was that Zack who was now invisible watched the whole thing.

"No…" Zack whispered to himself from his hiding place, "Aerith…I've gotta save them," After making sure the coast was definitely clear he crept out of his hiding place and he walked in the direction that the guards had taken Cloud and the others to.

* * *

**Chapter 4 is finally complete, phew it took me forever to write. Good thing Zack turned invisible when he did otherwise he would've been captured as well. I guess being a drag human has its perks even though it was the result of a twisted experiment. Will Zack be able to save his friends? Find out in chapter 5, just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy VII and its characters and content, they belong to Square Enix.**


	5. Zack to the Rescue

**Chapter 5: Zack to the Rescue**

It had been a whole hour since Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Aerith and Red XIII were captured by the Shinra, but fortunately for them Zack was still free thanks to his invisibility ability that had kicked in at the right moment. He was now walking through the 68th floor after losing track of the Turks and their captives, when he reached the lab he spotted a letter on Hojo's desk, Zack picked it up and he began to read the letter.

"Dear President Shinra," Zack read the letter as quietly as possible, "after being attacked by one of my specimens I have decided that enough is enough and that I quit. By the time you find this letter I'll be long gone, Yours Sincerely, Professor Hojo."

"So Hojo's resigning," Zack said to himself, "it couldn't have come at a better time, but I've got more important things to take care of right now, I have to save my friends. The Shinra normally throw their captives into the detention cells which last time I checked were on the 67th floor." Zack walked to the other side of the lab, he went passed the tube that Aerith was being held in a few hours ago and he entered the lift. He got out of the lift on the 67th floor and he walked through the other section of the lab, as he turned round the corner he saw something that greatly shocked him.

"What the…" Zack muttered to himself in shock as he saw that the container holding Jenova was damaged and that Jenova was no longer in it. "What happened here? Please don't tell me it broke out…" He looked down to see the remains of the container door, but he saw something else as well. "Blood…" Zack whispered as he bent down and dipped an invisible finger into it. "It's fresh, which means this was done recently, I just hope the others are ok." Zack stood up and he crept out of the lab, he thought it was strange that there were no guards looking for him and as soon as he left the lab it became apparent why.

"Dead," Zack stated under his breath as he saw the bodies of five Shinra guards piled up. "What happened to them?" Zack didn't have time to ponder the question any further as he heard the sound of footsteps, Zack crept behind a pillar and watched as the footsteps became louder and a man with long silver hair, glowing green eyes, wearing a black uniform and carrying a long sword walked round the corner. Zack almost cried out when he saw the man.

"_S…Sephiroth…" _Zack thought to himself hardly daring to believe what he had seen, _"it can't be…he can't be alive…can he?" _But there was no mistaking the silver hair, or the long sword or that evil smile that was ever present, as though it was super glued to his face, the tip of the sword was caked in blood. _"I guess he is alive," _Zack said to himself, _"only Sephiroth would be that cold hearted and cruel." _Zack struggled to get his heart rate under control as Sephiroth walked passed his hiding place. Fortunately Sephiroth had no idea that Zack was there and he carried on walking, as soon as Sephiroth had turned round the corner Zack came out of his hiding place.

"He was coming from the direction of the detention cells," Zack stated quietly then realisation hit him, "I hope they're still alive," Zack prayed as he made his way to the detention cells, as soon as he got there he saw that the guard was dead.

"He's dead too," Zack muttered sadly as he turned visible again realising that he was now safe. He carefully turned the body over to its front and he saw a long slash mark on the man's torso. "Sephiroth…he did this, only his sword can make that mark. This guy should have the key on him somewhere." Zack searched the guard's body until he found the prison key attached to the man's belt. Zack got to his feet, he walked over to the middle cell and he inserted the cardkey into the reader. The reader beeped and the cell door opened, Zack walked in and he saw Cloud and Tifa in the cell fast asleep, Zack walked over to Cloud who was lay on the floor.

"Cloud," Zack whispered in the man's ear as he gently shook him, "wake up."

"Uhhhh…huh?" Cloud moaned as he began to stir, he opened his eyes and he saw Zack kneeling down beside him, "Zack," he muttered as he sat up and rubbed his eyes, "what are you doing in here?"

"I've come to bust you out," Zack answered, he heard moaning coming from the other side of the cell, both he and Cloud turned round to see that Tifa had woken up.

"Zack…" She whispered as she slid off the cot rubbing her eyes as she did so, "what are you doing here?"

"To bust you guys out," Zack repeated himself, "we have to hurry though."

"Why?" Tifa questioned staring at Zack.

"I don't wish to alarm you both," Zack told them gravely, "but something happened outside, take a look." Zack walked out of the cell and Cloud and Tifa followed him, they both gasped at what they saw.

"Oh my God!" Tifa yelled as she saw the dead body, "what happened here?" She asked.

"Sephiroth," Zack answered this caused Cloud to stare at him.

"Don't be ridiculous Zack!" Cloud yelled at Zack, "Sephiroth's dead!"

"I saw him," Zack protested, "I saw him with my own eyes."

"Are you sure?" Tifa asked as she gave Zack a sceptical stare.

"I know what I saw!" He snapped at her, but he immediately regretted it, "come on, we have to get the others out of here." Zack walked over to the cell at the far right and released Barret and Red XIII, when they got out of the cell they too gasped when they saw the body.

"What the fuck happened here?" Barret asked as he cursed loudly.

Red walked closer to the body and sniffed it, "no human could've done this," he stated.

"Zack thinks it was Sephiroth," Tifa stated, Barret and Red stared at the drag human.

"Are you sure?" Red asked, "you could've been mistaken."

"I saw him," Zack repeated exactly what he told Cloud and Tifa, "I know it sounds crazy but I saw him there was no mistaking the silver hair, the green eyes and the long sword."

"We should get Aerith out of her cell," Cloud cut in quickly changing the subject, "then we can find the culprit."

Zack sighed, he knew that no one believed him and it made him feel frustrated but he knew that Cloud was right. He walked over to the cell on the far left, he was about to put the cardkey into the reader but he saw that the reader had been badly damaged. "Aerith!" Zack called into the cell.

"Yes!" Aerith yelled back through the cell.

"The lock's busted," Zack told her.

"What do you mean the lock's busted?" Aerith questioned as she placed her hands on her hips.

"It's been mangled," Zack answered her, "there's a large katana mark right across the swipe slot."

"Can't you get her out of there?" Tifa pleaded with Zack.

Zack sighed as his claws sprang out of the slits in his gloves, "stand back Aerith!" He warned as he dug his claws into the titanium door and began to cut through it.

Aerith was confused at what she heard but she stepped back from the door, as soon as she stepped back she could see the tips of Zack's claws cutting through the door. "There's a monster out there!" Aerith yelled in a frightened tone.

"That's me," Zack admitted in an attempt to reassure her, but Aerith was shocked when she heard him speak again.

"It…talks…" She uttered slowly.

Zack stopped cutting through the door when he heard those words, his claws were still dug deep into the door. "…IT?!" Zack yelled half confused and half angry.

"It's ok!" Tifa called into the cell to reassure Aerith, "he's a friend."

"Do I have to free her?" Zack whispered to Tifa, "I mean I want to, really I do, but she just called me an it," Zack added in an offended tone.

"When you get her out of there, you can explain everything to her," Tifa whispered back to Zack, she was half relieved now that Zack was there and that she'd have Cloud all to herself.

"Excuse me!" Zack yelled at the top of his lungs so that Aerith could hear him on the other side of the cell. "But I believe that I'm a guy, and before this happened to me I was at the worst called he or him, not it! I know all Cetras are hot but still she called me an it…ME!"

Aerith was shocked at what she had heard, _"I think I may have offended him," _Aerith thought to herself.

Cloud, Barret and Tifa stood there staring at Zack and for a time none of them spoke, "will you just get her out of there dragon boy!" Barret yelled at Zack finally breaking the awkward silence.

Zack glared at Barret, "Hey Barret!" He snapped back, "you've grown hair on the sides of your head!"

"Where?" Barret asked as he felt the sides of his head frantically, Zack breathed in and shot a small flame at the side of Barret's head. Barret dodged out of the way but the flame caught his ear. "Ow, ow, ow!" Barret shouted in pain, "that's hot, that's hot, that's hot!"

Zack smirked and he resumed cutting through the door to Aerith's cell the claws made a screeching sound as they cut through the door much like the sound of nails being scratched along a chalkboard. This caused everyone to cover their ears, one long and agonising door cut later and the door fell to the ground. Aerith took one look at the gapping hole where the door used to be and she slowly stepped out of it.

"Phew," she let out a huge sigh of relief as she stretched her legs, "it feels good to be free again,"

"Glad to see you're ok Aerith," Tifa replied happily as the two women hugged.

"Thanks Tifa," Aerith said back, she quickly broke free from Tifa's grip when she saw someone who looked strangely familiar to her but at the same time different. Zack saw that Aerith was staring at him and he tried to run for cover in the shadows when Tifa reached out and stopped him.

"Don't you think you've done enough hiding?" Tifa whispered in Zack's ears.

"I don't want her to see me like this," Zack whispered back as he pointed at himself.

"She's already seen you," Tifa told him, "you can't put it off any longer," she told him the truth and she shoved him in Aerith's direction. He was now stood directly in front of Aerith and she had a clear view of his face, her eyes were wide with shock.

"Z…Zack…" She stuttered hardly daring to believe what she was seeing, "Is that you?"

Zack nodded, "yeah," he answered sadly, "it's me."

Aerith slowly reached her hand up to Zack's face, Zack flinched at first but he eventually let Aerith place her hand on his face. She started to stroke the side of his face and she took a closer look at him. He looked different to how she remembered him, for one thing his skin was now a rich purple colour and his eyes had changed from bright blue to yellow, but they still had that Mako induced glow in them, she noticed that his ears were more pointed and small black horns protruded from his head. He looked more feral than usual but his black hair was still as unruly as ever, after a while the shock wore off and Aerith smiled. "It is you!" She exclaimed ecstatically as she hugged him.

Zack was shocked at Aerith's gesture, he was so convinced before hand that Aerith would've been repulsed by his appearance that he didn't expect her to hug him. After a while Zack reluctantly hugged her back, "I've missed you so much!" Aerith wailed as she buried her head into Zack's chest.

"I've missed you too Aerith," Zack stated as he stroked Aerith's hair, how he had missed this, how he had missed holding Aerith in his arms and whispering sweet nothings in her ear.

"Ehem!" Barret cleared his throat, "when you two are quite finished."

Zack and Aerith quickly broke apart, "Sorry Barret," Aerith apologised.

Red continued to sniff the body of the guard, "I'll go on ahead," he said as he ran down the corridor.

"We should follow him," Tifa stated, she was about to follow the beast when Cloud stopped her.

"First of all we need to get our weapons," he reminded her, "Zack do you still have the cardkey?" Cloud asked the drag human, Zack nodded and he gave Cloud the cardkey. He then proceeded to open every cell door until he found the cell that contained his, Aerith's and Tifa's weapons. The trio grabbed their weapons and they were all set, Barret was currently standing over the body when the others were ready to follow Red.

"You coming?" Zack asked the man with the gun arm.

"You guys go on ahead," Barret replied as he continued to examine the body, "I'll clean up back here, just try not to get caught by the Shinra ok."

"Don't you get caught," Cloud told Barret, Barret gave Cloud a hard dig in the stomach causing him to stagger backwards.

"Come on," Tifa said, "let's follow Red." Cloud, Tifa, Zack and Aerith ran down the corridor where they were shocked to discover more bodies and a trail of blood which Red was currently following. "Who or what could do such a thing?" Tifa asked shocked that anyone or anything would even dream of mass slaughter.

"Errr…Sephiroth," Zack stated half sarcastically causing everyone else to stare at him. "I know what you guys are gonna say," Zack stated before his friends could even say anything, "but I saw Sephiroth with my own eyes." Not wishing to argue with Zack anymore about the matter the group continued in silence until they caught up with Red who was currently in the lab sat next to the mangled Jenova container. The group entered the lab and they saw the container.

"Jenova…" Cloud muttered under his breath as all five of them stared at the now empty container. "It's escaped…"

"But that's impossible," Tifa cut in, "it had no head…it should be dead…it shouldn't be able to break out…"

"It was still moving though," Zack stated agreeing with Cloud, "Jenova has the uncanny ability to stay alive despite what's been done to it."

"Hmmm…" Red said thoughtfully, "it seems that the Jenova specimen has gone to the upper floor using the elevator for the specimens."

"And that's where we're gonna go," Cloud responded, "come on, let's get moving." Red ran on ahead and Zack, Aerith, Tifa and Cloud continued to follow the beast and the blood trail. The group walked through the corridor of the 68th floor constantly on alert with their weapons held out in front of them in case anything attacked them, fortunately there were no guards as they were all dead on this floor. The group walked up the stairs to the 69th floor and looked around them.

"The blood trail seems to lead upstairs," Aerith stated as she pointed at the blood trail, true enough it went up the stairs to the 70th floor.

"But the only thing that's up there is the President's office," Zack stated as the group ran up the stairs to the 70th floor, as soon as they reached the 70th floor they all looked around them.

"There's blood everywhere here too," Tifa stated, just as she said this Barret came running up the stairs.

"Sorry I'm late guys," Barret apologised, everyone then looked over at the President's desk and they were shocked at what they saw. "He's dead…" Barret stated the obvious breaking the silence, "the President of Shinra Inc is dead."

"No…you think," Zack replied sarcastically, "great work detective." Barret glared at Zack as Tifa ran round the desk to get a closer look at the President, it was then that she saw the giant sword sticking out of his back.

"That sword…" Tifa stated in shock as she instantly recognised the sword, "it's…"

"Sephiroth's…" Cloud finished Tifa's sentence for her as he walked up to her, he was finding it hard to believe that Sephiroth could be alive.

"So he's alive…" Tifa asked half not wanting to know the answer.

"Looks like it," Cloud answered, "only Sephiroth can use that sword."

"Now do you believe me?!" Zack snapped at everyone, "I told you that Sephiroth was alive but would you guys listen to me…Nooooooo…"

"Who cares who did it!" Barret retorted, "this is the end of Shinra now!" Barret said that last part in a happy tone.

"Will you both just shut up!" Cloud snapped as he paced round the room," I'm trying to think!" Cloud didn't have much time to think as he heard a moan coming from behind one of the pillars.

"Uh…" A man in a brown trench coat moaned as he ran out from behind the pillar, Aerith saw him running.

"Guys! He's getting away!" Aerith warned as Zack and Cloud chased after the man, they leapt on top of him to pin him to the floor. Once they were sure that he couldn't get away they each grabbed one of his arms and dragged him to his feet.

"Well, well, well," Zack stated as he grinned evilly at the man, "if it ain't Palmer, or as I like to call him, the fat bastard."

"P…p...please don't kill me…" Palmer pleaded with Cloud and Zack, "I'll tell you whatever you want to know…"

"Start singing…" Zack whispered menacingly in Palmer's ear as a clawed finger strayed towards Palmer's nether regions, this caused him to whimper.

"What happened?" Cloud demanded as he shook Palmer.

"S…Sephiroth…he came…" Palmer stuttered as Zack moved his clawed finger away from Palmer's nether regions.

"Sephiroth…" Cloud repeated the name like a bitter poison, "you saw him…you saw Sephiroth…"

"Yes, yes!" Palmer yelled half frightened, half impatient, "I saw him with my own eyes."

"How do we know you're not lying?" Zack demanded as his hand slowly reached for Palmer's throat.

Palmer saw Zack's hand reaching for his throat and he started talking more, "would I lie to you at a time like this?!" Palmer questioned and with his head he gestured towards the President's body. "I heard Sephiroth's voice too," Palmer began to explain what he heard, "he said something about not letting us have the Promised Land."

"The Promised Land…" Tifa repeated the last words that Palmer said, "so it really exists and Sephiroth's gonna stop the Shinra from getting it?"

"So Sephiroth's a good guy then," Barret stated after hearing what Tifa said, however Cloud and Zack shook their heads.

"Save the Promised Land…a good guy…no way!" Cloud answered as he and Zack continued to hold Palmer, "I know Sephiroth, his goal is different."

"He sees the Shinra as a threat to his plans, that's why he murdered the President," Zack added as Palmer began to struggle against Cloud and Zack's grip.

"Please let me go," Palmer pleaded with the group, "I've told you everything I know."

"Go on, get out of here," Zack stated as he and Cloud released Palmer, "but the next time we meet you won't be so lucky," Zack threatened as Palmer ran off frightened. As soon as Palmer ran through the door at the far side of the office the sound of a helicopter could be heard.

"Rufus," Barret stated, "I fucking forgot about him."

"Who's that?" Tifa asked Barret.

"Rufus Shinra," Barret answered, "the President's son." The group ran through the door that Palmer ran through a few seconds before, they ran round the corner to find Palmer talking to a man wearing a white suit.

"So Sephiroth was actually here," the man commented to what Palmer was telling him, Palmer nodded and when he saw the group he ran away, the man in the white suit turned round to face the group, "and who are you?" He asked them.

"I'm Cloud," Cloud answered the man, "Ex SOLDIER First Class."

"I'm from Avalanche!" Barret stated loudly as he lifted his gun arm in the air.

"Same here!" Tifa replied as she punched the air.

"A flower girl from the slums," Aerith said as she pointed her staff in front of her.

"A research specimen!" Red barked at the man.

"An ex SOLDIER First Class, Experiment and a mutant!" Zack yelled not forgetting what the Shinra had done to him, he glared at the man, his teeth were barred and his claws were fully extended.

The man sighed when he heard all that, "what a crew," he said in an impressed tone. "Well as you no doubt have already guessed, I'm Rufus Shinra," Rufus replied, "President of Shinra Inc."

Barret snorted with laughter as he heard this, "you're only President cos your old man snuffed it!" Barret yelled the truth at Rufus, Rufus merely shrugged in response.

"That's right, and I'll even let you hear my appointment speech," Rufus droned as he walked towards Tifa, she stepped back slightly, "old man tried to control the world with money, it seemed to have been working," Rufus explained the inner workings of Shinra as he walked towards Aerith, Aerith gasped as she listened to what Rufus was saying. "The population believed that the Shinra would protect them," Rufus scoffed as he then walked towards Barret, Barret had to try hard to resist the urge to point his gun arm at Rufus. "Work at Shinra, get your pay and if a terrorist attacks the Shinra army will help you, it seemed perfect on the outside" Rufus continued to explain, he paused for a moment before continuing.

"But I do things differently," he stated as he walked over to Zack, Zack growled under his breath and muttered curse words as Rufus continued to deliver his speech. "It takes too much to do it like my old man," Rufus moved away from the group and he walked to the railings of the balcony and leaned on them. "A little fear will control the minds of the common people, there's no reason to waste money on them." Rufus finished his speech and there was a long silence as Rufus turned round to smile at the group.

"He likes to make speeches just like his father," Tifa stated eventually breaking the silence.

"All talk, no action," Zack cut in as he slowly walked towards Rufus, "I know his type."

"Zack what are you doing?" Aerith asked the drag human a frightened look on her face.

"Putting an end to the Shinra's reign of terror," Zack answered as he continued to walk towards Rufus, his clawed fingers were out stretched hungry for flesh. "All the secrets, lies and corruption, it ends, now!" Zack was inches away from Rufus but he stopped when he felt something pressing against his chest. Zack looked down to see a shotgun pointed at his chest, he looked up to see Rufus grinning at him.

"Did you honestly think that I'd let myself be surrounded by a bunch of pathetic eco-warriors and their pet monsters and not carry any form of protection?" Rufus demanded as he circled the shotgun round Zack's chest, "if you did then you must be dumber than you look."

"I'm nobody's pet!" Zack spat at Rufus but not wanting to get shot again he stepped back towards the group.

Rufus grinned at the group again as he lowered his shotgun, "I didn't think so," he scoffed, Cloud turned to face the others.

"Get out of here," he told his friends, "get out of this building with Aerith."

"And what are you gonna do?" Tifa demanded as she stared at Cloud.

"I'll explain later," Cloud answered vaguely as he grasped the handle of his sword, "this is the real crisis for the planet."

"Well duh…" Zack muttered sarcastically, "we've already sussed that out."

"Just get out of here!" Cloud yelled, "I'll catch up with you guys after I've taken care of him," Cloud pointed at Rufus as he said this, the group nodded and one by one they began to leave.

"Good luck Cloud," Tifa replied as she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as she walked passed him and left the balcony.

"I trust you Cloud," Aerith added as she kissed Cloud on the other cheek, Zack grew instantly jealous as he saw this but Aerith took hold of his hand to reassure him that there was nothing going on between her and Cloud.

"Just…try not to get yourself killed," Zack said as he and Aerith left the balcony. The group ran down the stairs and were back on the 69th floor again, the group ran through the door and got into the elevator, but Aerith stopped as she suddenly remembered something. "Aerith come on!" Zack called out to her and waved his hand in a come here gesture.

"Cloud…" Aerith stated as her face was filled with worry, "I just thought of something."

Tifa pushed passed Barret and Zack and walked towards Aerith, she placed her hand on her friend's shoulder, "I'll wait for Cloud," Tifa volunteered, "you just get out of here with the others." Aerith was reluctant to go at first but after a reassuring nod from Tifa she joined the others in the elevator.

As soon as everyone was in the elevator Barret pushed the button and the elevator began its descent to the 1st floor. Zack walked over to Aerith and he leaned on the railing next to her, "now that we're together again there's a few things I want to ask you," Zack stated as Aerith looked up at him.

"What is it?" Aerith asked as she smiled at him, she had long since gotten over the shock that her first love was now a mutant.

"Well…" Zack began "it's about you and…" Zack didn't finish the rest of his sentence as an alarm sounded.

"What's going on?!" Aerith yelled as she covered her ears to drown out the alarm.

"Looks like we've got company!" Barret answered as another elevator containing a small tank levelled up with theirs. The tank opened its cannons and fired at the elevator breaking the glass, Aerith almost fell out of the elevator but Zack grabbed hold of her hand just in time and pulled her away from the edge.

"Are you ok?" Zack asked Aerith as he helped her to her feet.

Aerith smiled at him, "I'm ok now," she replied as she stroked the side of Zack's face.

"As much as I hate to break up your happy reunion," Red interrupted as he and Barret got into their fighting stances. "We still have to destroy that tank."

"Right," Zack agreed as he released Aerith, "it looks like we'll have to attack it from a distance," Zack theorised, "Barret you pump it with bullets, the rest of us will fire spells at it, I hope you have materia on you," Zack said to Red and Aerith. Aerith and Red nodded as their weapons and armlets glowed, Zack grinned and he created fireballs in his hands and threw them at the tank.

The tank turned its sensors on to Zack and it opened fire at him, Zack back flipped, side flipped and even did the moon walk as he avoided the bullets with ease. Aerith, Barret and Red saw their chance, while the tank was being distracted by Zack they hit it with every bullet and spell they had, the tank turned its sensors to each person in turn and fired at them, but every time it was distracted with one person another person hit it with either a bullet or a spell, eventually the sensor became confused and overloaded making it even harder to hit its target. The cannon on the tank began to fire in random directions sometimes completely missing its target and other times just narrowly missing them. Barret focused all the energy into his gun arm while Red focused his energy into another fire spell, as soon as they were ready they released their energy and Barret's Big shot attack combined with Red's fire spell completely destroyed the cannon and blew up the tank's armour leaving its core wide open.

Seeing that the core of the tank was now vulnerable Zack slowly breathed in as a bright orange sphere formed in his mouth, Aerith spotted this but she had no time to be shocked. She focused all her energy into creating a lightning spell, she held it in and as Zack shot a jet of flames at the tank's core Aerith released the lightning spell into the flames, the lightning twisted round the flames and combined with the fire completely obliterating the core as the two attacks struck it. As soon as the smoke cleared the group looked at the other elevator to see that the tank was badly damaged and lifeless.

"Now that's what I call causing a ruckus!" Barret yelled as the group laughed and cheered, but their victory was cut short by a whirring sound.

"What's that noise?" Aerith asked as everyone stopped what they were doing and listened.

"Something tells me this is far from over," Zack stated as the whirring sound got louder, "EVERYONE GET DOWN!" Zack yelled as a flying tank came into view and started firing a laser beam at the group. Everyone quickly dived to the ground as the laser passed above their heads.

Barret leapt to his feet and he aimed his gun arm at the Heligunner, "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Barret yelled at the top of his lungs as he opened fire at the thing, the Heligunner swiftly changed direction completely avoiding the spray of bullets that Barret was firing at it. After a while Barret gave up and the others stood up.

"It's no good," Zack stated as the group stared at the Heligunner, "it's too fast it's just gonna avoid all of our attacks."

"So what do you suggest?!" Barret yelled as the Heligunner opened fire at the group again.

"Looks like we're gonna have to fight fire with fire," Zack stated and before anyone could say anything he tore his coat off to reveal a black SOLDIER uniform, two large purple wings and a long purple tail with a large spear at the end of it.

The whole group stared in shock and Aerith gasped at what she saw, "Zack…" Was all she could utter.

Zack didn't say a word, he took a few steps back, he ran towards the edge of the elevator and leapt out of it, Aerith gasped again and she ran to the edge of the elevator. "Zack!" She called out Zack's name, "please be ok," she whispered, "Aaaaahhhhh!" She screamed as a purple blur whizzed passed her, Zack flew towards the Heligunner, it aimed its laser at him but Zack flew out of the way as the laser completely missed him.

"You missed!" Zack taunted causing the Heligunner to turn its sensors towards him, the Heligunner then opened fire with its machine guns, Zack weaved this way and that dodging the spray of machine gun bullets, he then proceeded to lie down in midair completely mocking the Heligunner. The Heligunner closed off its machine guns and opened its laser cannon and fired a powerful laser beam at Zack, Zack moved his tail out of the way and his eyes followed the laser as it narrowly missed his ass. He grinned at the Heligunner, "I hope they fire whoever made this pile of shit!" He yelled jokingly as he performed loop de loops in the air while conjuring fireballs in his hands and throwing them at the Heligunner, each fireball hit the Heligunner causing more and more damage to its armour. The Heligunner opened its machine guns again and opened fire at Zack, he performed his usual evasive manoeuvres to dodge the bullets and when he saw an opening he breathed a jet of flames at the machine guns completely destroying them.

The Heligunner opened its last long range weapon and fired laser after laser at Zack, he dodged them with ease. Zack's claws sprung out of his finger tips, he landed on the laser cannon and started hacking at it with his claws. Once the laser cannon was weakened Zack opened his wings again and hovered above the laser cannon. With one swift and powerful kick Zack knocked the laser cannon clean off the main body of the Heligunner.

With no long range weapons left the Heligunner resorted to using close range weapons. Six long arms with sharp finger like projections came out of the sides of it. Two of the arms sprung out and grabbed Zack by his arms and legs and pulled outwards trying to break him in half. Zack winced in pain as he felt himself being stretched, he heard the sound of his back cracking and he laughed. Zack laughed for a whole minute before he suddenly pulled downwards weighing the arms down so much that they snapped off the main body. While the Heligunner was distracted by the loss of two of its arms Zack clung on to the side of the Heligunner and he began to cut a hole in the side of it with his claws and he crawled inside it. The Heligunner's sensors detected Zack inside it and it started to constantly bash itself with its arms causing extensive damage to itself. Zack punched upwards completely removing the Heligunner's head, he crawled through the hole where Heligunner's head used to be, he whistled and tapped the side of it to get its attention. He quickly dived back inside the Heligunner and crawled through the hole he had cut himself just as one of the arms smashed through the core rendering it lifeless. Zack hovered and watched as the now destroyed Heligunner fell to the ground and exploded. (**A/N, this last paragraph was a parody of the film The Incredibles where Mr Incredible fought the Omnidroid. It was such a funny part I just had to make a parody of it.**)

Zack flew back down to the elevator where a frantic Aerith was searching for him, "Zack!" She called out his name, "Zack, where are you?!"

"Boo!" Zack yelled as he landed silently behind Aerith.

"Aaaaahhhhh!" Aerith yelled as she jumped out of her skin, she turned round to see Zack stood behind her grinning, "don't scare me like that!" She yelled as she gave him a dig in the stomach.

"Sorry," Zack apologised trying hard not to laugh, "I couldn't resist."

"Those were some smooth moves," Barret complimented Zack.

"Thanks," Zack replied gratefully as he turned to face Barret, "coming from you, that means a lot."

"We should be approaching our destination now," Red informed the group as the elevator came to a stop, there was a dinging sound and the door opened, the group stepped out of the damaged elevator and they headed towards the exit.

"I'll go on ahead," Barret stated as he ran out of the door and opened fire at all the guards standing outside. While all that was going on outside Aerith hugged Zack.

"Zack…you know when you were fighting that Heligunner…" Aerith started to say.

"What about it?" Zack asked as he wrapped his arms round Aerith's waist.

"I thought I lost you again," Aerith stated in a frightened tone as she pulled him into a tighter hug.

"Hey come on," Zack replied encouragingly as he placed a finger under Aerith's chin and gently lifted her face up until her green eyes were staring directly into his yellow eyes. "It's gonna take a lot more than that to kill me off, I guess I should be thanking the Shinra, if they hadn't have conducted their experiments on me, I wouldn't have been able to defeat the Heligunner."

Aerith was about to respond but Barret came running back in pointing his gun arm at the door. "Surrounded huh?" Barret stated as he turned his head to face the group. "If I were alone this wouldn't be a thing, but I've got a reputation to protect."

Aerith released her hold on Zack and she walked over to Barret, "You should all leave while you can," she told Barret, Zack and Red XIII, "it's me they're after, I shouldn't have gotten you guys involved."

"But we are involved," Zack reminded her and he placed his hand on her shoulder, "don't worry, I'll do everything in my power to protect you," Zack promised.

"As will I," Red added.

"And me," Barret cut in, "you've done so much for me what with saving Marlene, now it's my turn to return the favour." Barret then turned back towards the door. "Ok you jackasses!" He insulted the soldiers on the other side of the door, "play time's over!"

Aerith smiled at the group, "thanks guys, I really appreciate this but…"

"When you guys are through talking," Red interrupted, "I think we should find a way out of here."

Everyone turned to look at Red, "huh…" Barret said looking confused, "oh yeah, you're a cold man, just like someone else I know," Barret remarked.

"Did you say something?" Red asked pretending not to have heard Barret.

"Not a damn thing," Barret answered.

"So now what do we do?" Zack asked as he looked round the group hopefully for an answer.

"Guys!" A voice called out them, the group turned round to see Tifa running down the stairs to the lobby, Zack, Barret, Aerith and Red ran to her.

"Tifa!" Aerith exclaimed "I'm so glad you're safe."

"Where's Cloud?" Zack asked Tifa.

"I'll explain later," Tifa answered, "but right now, follow me." Tifa ran through a door to the back of the lobby and everyone else followed her.

"Hey, nice vehicles," Zack commented as he looked around the room at the various bikes, cars and trucks.

"This isn't the time to sight see!" Barret snapped at Zack.

"Right," Tifa agreed with Barret, "we have to get…" The rest of Tifa's sentence was drowned out by the roar of an engine. The group turned round to see Cloud driving down the stairs of the showroom on a black motor bike, he skidded to a stop when he saw the others.

"Nice of you to drop in," Zack sarcastically remarked causing Cloud to glare at him.

"Where's Rufus?" Barret asked Cloud.

"He got away," Cloud answered sadly, "I couldn't defeat him, something tells me things are gonna get a little more complicated from now on."

"You think!" Zack snapped at Cloud, "If you'd have just let me deal with Rufus he'd be dead now!"

"And have you getting shot!" Cloud retorted, "in case you didn't notice, he was pointing a shotgun at you!" Cloud then noticed Zack's wings and tail, "is it me, or have you mutated more since the last time I saw you?" Cloud joked.

"What the…" Zack muttered trying to think of a comeback, "That's beside the point!" He yelled pointing a finger at Cloud.

"We'll discuss this later," Cloud stated changing the subject, "just grab a vehicle and lets get out of here," Cloud revved his bike and he smashed through the door of the showroom.

Tifa looked around the room and she saw a blue pickup truck, "that'll do," Tifa stated as she ran to the pickup truck and climbed into the driver's seat. Aerith ran up and she got into the passenger seat next to Tifa. Tifa reversed the truck so that Barret and Red could leap into the back, the truck then drove off to follow Cloud.

"I'll just fly behind you shall I?" Zack asked sarcastically to himself as he opened his wings and took off after his friends. "It's a good thing I can fly as fast as a Chocobo can run!" Zack boasted loudly as he managed to catch up with his friends. "Otherwise I never would've been able to catch up with you." The whole group stared at the window which led to the Highway, Zack grinned at Cloud, "I bet we could make that," he said casually.

Cloud stared at Zack, "2gil says we can't," Cloud said pessimistically, nevertheless he revved the engine in his bike, and Tifa did the same with the pickup truck.

"You're Onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!" Zack yelled as he, Cloud and the pickup truck with their friends in crashed through the glass and landed on the Highway. "You lose," Zack stated with a grin as Cloud tossed him 2gil. (**A/N, another short parody, this time from the film Road to Eldorado where Miguel and Tulio are having a bet, another classic moment from a funny film.**)

The sound of sirens could be heard as Shinra troopers gave chase on their bikes. "Look's like we've got company!" Zack warned his friends, Cloud looked behind him to see a dozen troopers on bikes, he took the Buster Sword off his back and as a Shinra trooper caught up with him, Cloud sliced downwards completely demolishing the bike and knocking the trooper off it. The other trooper's sped up after seeing their comrade fall, Cloud slashed at the troopers again, he managed to catch one but the others slipped passed him and started to attack the pickup truck. Sensing that his friends were in danger Zack flew after the troopers, two of the troopers caught up with the pickup truck and started bashing against it, causing everyone in the truck to panic. As soon as Zack was in striking distance he launched himself claws first into the side of the bike catching the trooper completely off guard and knocking him off the bike. Zack dug his tail into the hard concrete causing the bike to skid to a stop. Using his tail as an anchor Zack twisted his body and the bike round and he launched it into the path of the second trooper, the trooper was thrown over the front of his bike and he landed hard on the Highway instantly breaking his neck.

Grinning Zack flew along side the truck, he tapped on the window with his knuckles and Aerith wound it down. "Are you ok?!" He asked her shouting above the roar of the wind.

"Yeah!" Aerith answered back, "when that bike rammed us I was scared," Aerith admitted.

"Don't worry, I took care of the bastards," Zack reassured her, Aerith smiled and she was about to kiss Zack when Cloud came riding along side them his sword was caked with blood.

"Need I ask what you were up to back there," Red spoke up as he saw Cloud's blood stained sword.

Cloud smiled ruefully, "Eh he…" He chuckled, "but on the plus side I took care of the remaining troopers."

"That's good I guess it's just plain sailing from…whoa!" Zack cried out as a large heavily armoured tank started to catch up with them.

"Tifa…" Aerith called out her friend's name panicked by what she saw.

"I'm going at max speed as it is!" Tifa exclaimed, "it won't go any faster."

"You might want to slow down!" Zack warned Tifa and Cloud.

"Why?!" They both asked at the same time.

"Because the road's gonna end!" Zack yelled as he pointed out the road blocks and an unfinished road.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Everyone yelled at the same time as Cloud and Tifa slammed down on their breaks causing the vehicles to screech to a halt. The armoured tank stopped slightly behind them, everyone got out of their vehicles and Zack landed on the ground as all six of them stared at the large tank. Everyone leapt out of the way as the tank suddenly charged forwards intending to crush the group with its weight. It skidded to a stop near the road block and it instantly changed its shape. The group saw that the tank now had a torso and two flamethrowers attached to said torso. Everyone readied their weapons and got into fighting stances as the tank performed a twin flamethrower attack and spread the flame jets across the whole area causing everyone to leap out of the way again to avoid getting burned. Cloud, Zack, Tifa and Red all charged at the tank, while Aerith and Barret stayed in the rear, attacking it from a distance and healing their friends if needed. Cloud continued to charge at the tank and he slashed at it repeatedly causing a giant cross shaped slash mark to be carved deep into the tank's armour. Tifa ran up to the tank at top speed and performed a vicious punch and kick combo before performing a backwards somersault on it, Tifa's attacks caused massive dents in the armour. Red and Zack then leapt into the air at the same time both with their claws outstretched as they clung on to the torso of the tank and started attacking it repeatedly. Both beasts then separated off and started attacking the flamethrowers while Cloud, Tifa, Barret and Aerith, (with a lightning spell) attacked the main body of the tank. The group soon made light work of the tank and it broke down in front of them, Zack then crept round to the back of it and with a burst of strength his pried the back of the tank where he found an oil canister. With a swift and powerful thrust of his tail Zack caused a massive big crack in the canister causing oil to trickle out of it. With a smirk Zack created a fireball in his hand and he threw it at the oil which immediately burst into flame. When the flames hit the canister the tank exploded and debris flew all over the place.

The whole group stared at Zack, "what?" Zack asked as though a tank blowing up was a normal, everyday occurrence. "This could be our last battle for a while, I wanted to make sure it went with a bang." Cloud shook his head at Zack and he walked towards the end of the road.

"So what happens now?" Barret asked as he walked up to Cloud.

"Sephiroth's alive," Cloud answered without looking at anyone, "I…I have to settle the score."

"And you think that'll save the planet?" Barret questioned.

"I guess so," Cloud replied vaguely.

"Alright then, I'm going," Barret stated matter of factly.

"I'm going to," Aerith said as she too walked up to Cloud, "there's so many things I want to know."

"About the Ancients?" Cloud asked her.

"Many things," Aerith replied.

"You're going to defeat Sephiroth right?" Zack questioned Cloud as he came up to Aerith.

Cloud turned round to face the group and he nodded, "yeah," he answered, "I have to put an end to this once and for all."

"Then it's settled," Zack decided, "I too have a score to settle with Sephiroth,"

"How so?" Aerith asked Zack.

"It's personal," was all that Zack said.

"I guess this is goodbye Midgar," Tifa replied quickly shifting the subject away from Sephiroth. Ten minutes later the group climbed down from the upper plate via a long, conveniently placed rope and they ended up in the outskirts of Midgar.

Zack sighed happily at the thought of leaving Midgar, "it feels good to be finally leaving this place," he stated in a pleased tone.

"Too many bad memories?" Aerith asked him, she was still filled with curiosity at where he had been all this time but she knew that this wasn't the time.

Zack nodded, "I guess you could say that."

"I'm going back to my hometown," Red informed the group of his plans, "I'll travel with you as far as there."

"I guess this is it," Tifa stated as the reality of the fact that they were living Midgar hit her, "the start of a very long journey."

"You sure you're up to it?" Cloud asked her.

Tifa turned to face Cloud," Of course," she replied, "we're all in this together now, I guess there's no going back."

Cloud shook his head, "ok, let's get going," he ordered.

"Wait a minute," Barret cut in, "if we're gonna leave then we're gonna need a leader."

"Barret does have a point," Zack agreed, "we need someone to keep everyone in order."

"Of course you needn't look much further," Barret stated smugly as he made it perfectly clear that he thought that he was the best candidate for the job.

"Yeah!" Zack argued with Barret, "you'll make a good leader my ass!"

"Who asked you?!" Barret snapped at Zack.

"I did that's who!" The drag human retorted and both Zack and Barret glared at each other until Tifa came in between them.

"Guys please," Tifa pleaded with the two men, "there must be an easy way to settle this."

"Rock, paper, scissors," Zack cut in, "it's the only way." Cloud and Barret stared at Zack but they agreed to it. Cloud, Barret and Zack held their hands out and played a game of rock, paper, scissors to decide who was going to be leader of the group. After a few seconds both Barret and Zack got rock and Cloud got paper. "Best two out of three," Zack said not willing to admit that he was beaten.

"Don't be a spoil sport Zack!" Aerith scolded Zack before she turned to Cloud. "So what do we do now Cloud?"

"Hmmm…" Cloud thought for a while, "the nearest town from here is Kalm so we'll head there."

"Good idea," Tifa agreed, "it'll give us a chance to rest and get a few supplies before we begin heading out properly."

"Alright," Barret said still in a mood for losing to Cloud, "that way we get to hear what all this is about."

Cloud sighed, "fine I'll tell you everything once we reach Kalm." The group left the city of Midgar and they began to make their way to the nearby village of Kalm, little did they know that their lives would soon take a dark twist.

* * *

**Phew, chapter 5 is finally complete, Zack was finally reunited with Aerith but will he tell her everything that had happened to him and will he find out why Cloud was pretending to be something he wasn't? Find out in chapter 6 which will be coming soon. I don't own Final Fantasy VII, its characters or its content, they belong to Square Enix.** **The Incredibles belongs to Disney Pixar and The Road to Eldorado belongs to Dreamworks.**


	6. Truth and Lies

**Flashbacks will be written in **_**Italics **_**but due to the nature of the story there will be some interruptions during the flashback. They will be written in normal font but within the flashback.**

**Chapter 6: Truth and Lies**

After a couple of hours of walking through the fields the group finally arrived in the neighbouring town of Kalm. "So this is what Kalm looks like," Tifa stated admiringly as she looked round the town. "It's so quaint and peaceful here, so different to the slums in Midgar."

"I've always wondered what the world outside Midgar looked like," Aerith added as she too looked round the town, "can we explore, pretty please?" She pleaded with Cloud.

"I don't see why not," Cloud stated as he looked around, "I think I'm gonna check out the weapon shop, I need a new weapon."

Barret stretched and yawned, "well I'm beat, I'm gonna head over to the inn and rest for a while."

"Awww…" Zack said mockingly, "was all that walking too much for you fat ass?"

Barret glared at Zack, "At least I don't look like some damn freak!" Barret retorted.

"Hey!" Zack snapped as he jabbed an index finger in Barret's chest, "I may look like a freak but at least I have full use of all my limbs!"

Barret lunged at Zack and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, "listen here lizard boy!" Barret yelled at Zack as he slammed the ex SOLDIER's back against the wall. "It was because of the Shinra that I lost my right arm, so shut the fuck up!"

"Guys, don't fight out on the street," Tifa sighed as walked up to Barret and tried to pull the man off Zack. "Barret, Zack didn't mean what he said, did you Zack?" Tifa glared at Zack as she asked this.

"No…of course not…" Zack lied through his teeth, Barret released his hold on Zack and took a few steps back. The hairs on the back of Zack's neck stood on end and his tail straightened out, he let out a menacing hiss at Barret before Tifa got between them.

"Stop it you two!" She scolded them, "you're making a scene."

Barret turned round and walked over to the inn, "I'll book us a room," he stated not wishing to get into further conflict, "just try not to be too long," Barret turned round and he entered the inn, Red followed him.

"Come on Zack! Aerith squealed in excitement as she grabbed Zack by the hand and dragged him off, "let's check out the town." Tifa and Cloud laughed as they saw Zack being dragged off and they went their own separate ways.

Aerith and Zack entered the town square and Aerith was amazed to see how busy the town was with people running left, right and centre going about their daily business. "Wow!" Aerith exclaimed, "this town is bustling with life, and everyone's so polite to each other, no pushing or shoving, when all this over I want to live here, don't you think this will be a perfect place to live Zack, Zack?" Aerith turned around to see that Zack wasn't there, "now where has he got to?" Aerith asked irritably as she stomped her foot on the ground and placed her hands on her hips. "Zack where are you?" She called out the drag human's name and she set off to find him.

Aerith found Zack down a back alley hiding in the shadows, "are you going to do this every time we enter a new town?" She demanded as she glared at Zack.

"I was just…" Zack started to answer.

"Hiding…" Aerith finished his sentence for him, "I know."

"Look at me Aerith," Zack said with a hint of sadness in his voice, "I'm a mutant, I don't belong in human society anymore."

"So you're just going to hide in the shadows and give up on your life?" Aerith questioned, her voice was filled with concern.

"Well what do you suggest I do?" Zack yelled at Aerith his hands were shaking as he looked away from them in disgust. "I thought I could handle this but I can't…I feel like everyone is staring at me…"

"No one was staring at you Zack," Aerith replied trying to sound encouraging.

"People were looking at me funny," Zack told Aerith, "they see me as a monster."

"Well what about Red?" Aerith asked Zack trying to get her point across, "no one was staring at him," she took hold of Zack's hand and held it to reassure him. "You're not a monster, you're still human…on the inside, so please don't hide in the shadows."

Zack sighed, he knew that Aerith was right, he had spent the past week or so hiding himself away since he had escaped from the Shinra. He knew that he could never forgive the Shinra for what they had done, not only to himself but to countless other innocent victims, and he also knew that he couldn't get revenge on the Shinra by hiding away. "You're right," Zack stated as he stepped out of the shadows, I can't hide away, the Shinra, Hojo and Sephiroth are still out there and I can't beat them if I'm hiding away. But I'll need your help."

"Don't worry," Aerith reassured him, "I'm not going to abandon you, and neither is everyone else."

Zack smiled, "thanks Aerith," he replied gratefully, "didn't you say you wanted to go to the Materia store?"

Aerith nodded, "yeah, I want to get some new Materia for everyone." Aerith took Zack by the hand and she led him out of the alley and into the town square. They walked up some stone steps to the upper level of the town and they entered a shop with the sign Materia on it.

Aerith and Zack looked around at the glowing orbs on the shelves, "Oooohhh…look at this one Zack!" Aerith exclaimed as she picked up a piece of green materia, "Earth Materia, powerful Earth based magic and there's a piece of Materia that can heal status effects like poison, a couple of these will come in handy," she remarked as she picked up two healing Materia, "and another cure Materia wouldn't do any harm either," she said half to herself as she grabbed a cure Materia.

Zack stared at Aerith, "At this rate you'll be buying the whole shop," he said jokingly causing Aerith to stick her tongue out at him then she smiled.

"You know, that's not such a bad idea," she replied happily, "want to start up a business when all this is over?" She asked Zack.

"Obviously you don't understand sarcasm," Zack muttered under his breath.

"Oh you…" Aerith replied, she couldn't help but laugh at Zack's serious expression, "just think, we could run our own Materia shop, imagine it, us two, business partners."

"Can we just get what need and go?" Zack pleaded with Aerith, "I feel like people are staring at me."

"You're such a wet blanket," Aerith stated half jokingly causing Zack to scowl at her, nevertheless she walked up to the counter and began to pay for the Materia. Zack stood near the shelf and waited for Aerith when he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head.

"Ow!" Zack cried out in pain as he scratched the back of his head, he looked at the floor and he saw a small round pellet. "Ok…who's firing pellets at me?" He turned round and he saw a trio of young lads talking to each other looking innocent, Zack shrugged and he turned back towards Aerith.

"Hey, if you get the pellet in his back it's a million points," the boy on the left whispered to his friend as his friend took out a sling shot and fired a pellet at Zack's back. Zack's wings suddenly opened out of reflex, one of them caught the shelf and knocked the Materia off it.

"Whoa!" Zack yelled as he caught all the pieces of Materia that fell off the shelf. "Phew…" Zack let out a huge sigh of relief as he caught all the Materia, little did he know was that there was a small toddler stood on the floor looking at Zack's tail as it swung to and fro.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!" Zack cried out as he felt a sharp pain in his tail, in his pain and shock Zack dropped the Materia he was holding and the orbs rolled on to the floor. The drag human turned round to see the small toddler biting his tail. "!" Zack yelled again as he started pacing round the shop in a panic shaking his tail vigorously. "Get it off me! Get it off me!"

Aerith had finished paying for her stuff, she turned round and she saw the toddler biting Zack's tail. "Zack!" Aerith shouted as she ran over to Zack, "Are you ok?" She asked him.

"Do I bloody look ok?" Zack yelled as he paced round in circles, "there's a kid biting my tail and their teeth are fucking sharp!"

"I was only asking!" Aerith snapped back.

The child's mother saw what was happening and she ran up, after several failed attempts, the toddler's mother finally got her child to stop biting Zack's tail. Zack looked at his tail and he saw bite marks on it. "I'm really sorry about this," the woman apologised to Zack and Aerith.

"That's ok," Aerith accepted the woman's apology.

"You should put a muzzle on that kid!" Zack yelled.

"Come on, let's just go," Aerith cut in, she grabbed hold of Zack's hand and dragged him out of the shop. "Was that really necessary?" Aerith demanded as soon as they were safely away from the shop.

"Her kid bit my tail," Zack defended himself, "what was I supposed to do?"

"She apologised didn't she?" Aerith asked.

"Yeah, but you didn't see the evil glint in that kid's eye."

Aerith shook her head, "I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill," Aerith stated as they continued walking.

"Oh I am, am I?" Zack snapped at Aerith, he saw the same woman from earlier and her son, as soon as her son laid his eyes on Zack he grinned evilly at him, Zack glared back at the kid, "you're mocking me…aren't you?" The kid continued to grin evilly at Zack as if to say, that tail of yours is mine. As if by instinct, Zack grabbed hold of his tail and continued to stare at the kid, until he and his mother disappeared round the corner.

"We should get back to the inn," Aerith quickly changed the subject, "everyone will be expecting us." Zack and Aerith continued to walk down the street to the inn, as soon as they arrived at the inn they entered the building and climbed the stairs to their room. They entered the room to see that everyone else was already there.

"What took you guys so long?" Barret demanded, he was leaning against the wall with his arms folded.

"We were at the Materia shop," Aerith answered vaguely, she didn't want to tell everyone about what happened in there. "We got some new Materia for everyone."

"Thanks Aerith," Cloud replied gratefully, he was sat on one of the beds next to Tifa, Tifa saw the bite marks on Zack's tail.

"Zack," Tifa gasped in shock, "what happened to your…"

"DON'T ASK!" Zack yelled interrupting Tifa, "FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY DON'T ASK!" Zack stomped to the other side of the room, he sat down on a chair and he rested his tail on the table next to it. Aerith rummaged through her pack and got out a first aid kit, she opened it up and she took an ice pack out. She walked over to Zack and she placed it on his tail where the bite marks were.

"This should help with the pain and the swelling," she told Zack as he held it in place.

"Thanks Aerith," Zack replied gratefully, "Me and my tail are forever in your debt."

"Well now that everyone's here, let's here your story," Barret demanded as everyone stared expectedly at Cloud, "you know, about the real crisis facing the planet."

"Yeah," Zack added as the pain in his tail started to subside, "we're dying to hear all about your adventures."

Cloud sighed, "I guess I don't have any other choice," he stood up and he turned round to face the group. "Ever since I was a kid I wanted to be like Sephiroth," Cloud began his explanation, "so I joined SOLDIER…"

"Ha!" Zack laughed loudly causing everyone to stare at him, Zack quickly coughed hoping to disguise his laugh.

"Is there a problem Zack?" Tifa asked Zack.

"No, no problem at all," Zack lied, "I just had a bad cough that was all."

"Funny," Red cut in, "it sounded like a laugh to me."

"Anyway," Cloud quickly continued, "after working with Sephiroth on several missions, we became friends."

"You call that a friend?" Barret questioned.

"Yeah well…" Cloud answered as he slowly paced round the room, "he was older than me and he hardly ever talked about himself, I guess you could call him a war buddy…"

"Are you sure?" Zack questioned with an amused smile on his face, he was determined to get to the truth. "I mean, you look too young to have been in any wars."

Cloud glared at Zack, "Zack please," Aerith pleaded with Zack before Cloud could say anything.

Cloud mouthed a silent thank you to Aerith before continuing, "we trusted each other until one day."

"One day…" Tifa repeated the last two words Cloud said, like the rest of her friends she was hanging on to Cloud's every word.

Cloud nodded, "after the war was over, it was SOLDIER's duty to put down any resistance against the Shinra…that was five years ago, I was sixteen."

* * *

(Flashback)

_Cloud was stood inside a military truck as it drove down an old and forgotten road, the rain could be heard pounding on the windshield of the truck. Cloud paced round the truck and he saw a Shinra guard sat down in a corner of the truck looking sick._

"_Are you feeling ok?" Cloud asked the guard a hint of concern in his voice._

_The guard looked up at Cloud, "I'm alright," he answered as he hung his head again, it was obvious that the man wasn't ok._

"_I wouldn't know," Cloud replied, "I've never had motion sickness." Cloud walked over to the other guard and patted him on the shoulder, "how are you doing?" The guard looked up and waved at Cloud to let him know that he was fine and Cloud walked back to the centre of the truck._

_Sephiroth lifted his head up to look at Cloud, "hey," he spoke up suddenly causing Cloud to turn round, "settle down."_

_Cloud started doing his squat thrusts, he seemed unable to contain his excitement. "They gave me some new Materia!" Cloud exclaimed, "I can't wait to use it."_

"_Just like a kid," Sephiroth stated off handedly causing Cloud to stop what he was doing._

"_Are you gonna brief us about the mission?" Cloud asked curiously not taking his eyes off Sephiroth._

"_This isn't a typical mission," Sephiroth started to explain._

_Cloud grinned when he heard this, "good," he replied._

_Sephiroth gave Cloud a curious stare, "why do you say that?" He questioned._

"_I joined SOLDIER so I could be like you," Cloud answered as he walked over to the rear of the truck and looked out "But by the time I made First Class, the war was already over, my big hopes of becoming a hero like you ended with the war. That's why I always sign up whenever there's a big mission, kind of a way to prove myself." Cloud then turned round again to face Sephiroth, "say, how do you feel Mr Sephiroth?" Cloud asked as an afterthought._

_Sephiroth laughed, "I thought you wanted a briefing," he reminded Cloud of what he said earlier. Cloud gave Sephiroth a sheepish grin, he smoothed his unruly hair and walked back towards Sephiroth. "Our mission is to investigate an old Mako reactor." Sephiroth explained, "There have been reports of it malfunctioning, and producing brutal creatures. First, we will dispose of those creatures, then, we'll locate the problem and neutralize it." _

"_Brutal creatures?" Cloud questioned, "Where?"_

"_Nibelheim," Sephiroth calmly answered._

_Cloud gasped when he heard the answer, "Nibelheim," Cloud repeated what Sephiroth had said. "That's where I'm from!"_

_Sephiroth closed his eyes and nodded, "hmmm…hometown," he mused half to himself, he was awoken from his thoughts when a loud crashing sound could be heard in front of the truck._

"_S…sir…" the truck driver stuttered, "s…something's crashed into our truck."_

_Sephiroth stood up when he heard this, "that would be our monster," the general stated calmly as he walked out the back of the truck._

"_Wait for me!" Cloud called after Sephiroth as he too leapt out the back of the truck. The two men ran to the front of the truck where they saw a giant, Mako enhanced dragon. _

_Cloud stared at the dragon in shock, but his shock soon wore off as the dragon breathed a jet of flames in his direction, Cloud ducked just in time. He took the Buster Sword off his back and he charged at the dragon, he performed a leaping strike attack on the dragon but his sword ricocheted off the dragon's back. The force of the blow caused Cloud to be sent flying backwards. "What the hell…" Cloud muttered to himself, "My attack bounced right off it…" The dragon charged towards the two men, Cloud looked to his left to see Sephiroth stood there with his eyes closed looking perfectly calm, his sword was still in its sheath at his side. "Errr…Sephiroth…" Cloud tried to get his superior's attention while keeping an eye on the rampaging dragon which was getting closer to them. "Sephiroth…the dragon is head straight for us!" Sephiroth still didn't move and the dragon was now a few feet away from them. "SEPHIROTH!" Cloud yelled the man's name as the dragon leapt towards them. Sephiroth suddenly opened his eyes and quickly took his sword out of its sheath, he charged at the dragon with lightning speed and performed a powerful slash attack on its neck and he stopped at the other side of the dragon. With a grin Sephiroth sheathed his sword and with a cry the dragon's head was severed clean off its body, and the headless dragon fell to the ground lifeless. _

_Sephiroth walked calmly back to Cloud as the latter stared in shock at the former, "shall we?" Sephiroth asked Cloud as he walked back to the truck, Cloud was still stood there staring in shock before he too walked back to the truck, as soon as Cloud and Sephiroth were safely in the truck, the SOLDIER's resumed their journey to Nibelheim."_

* * *

(End Flashback)

"Are you sure that's what happened?" Zack asked giving Cloud a sceptical stare.

Cloud glared at Zack, "yes…" Cloud sighed exasperatedly.

"Just making sure," Zack stated quickly.

"Sephiroth's strength is unreal," Cloud explained ignoring Zack's cryptic remarks, "he's far stronger in reality than in any story you hear about him."

"So where do you come in?" Aerith asked Cloud giving him a curious stare.

"Yeah Cloud," Zack asked nastily, "where do you come into it?"

"Me…" Cloud said through gritted teeth, starting to become annoyed at Zack's interruptions. "I was mesmerised by the way Sephiroth fought…" The entire group stared at Cloud in awe, "and then we reached Nibelheim."

* * *

(Flashback)

_After the fight with the dragon, the SOLDIER's had finally reached Nibelheim, a small quiet town at the edge of the mountains. Sephiroth was the first to reach the town's entrance and he looked around. "How does it feel?" Sephiroth asked Cloud as the younger man walked up behind him, "It's your first time back in your hometown for a while right," Cloud nodded, "so how does it feel?"_

"What a bunch of bull crap," Zack muttered under his breath interrupting Cloud's story.

"Zack," Aerith admonished, "can we please hear what Cloud has to say?"

"Ok, ok…" Zack sighed and Cloud continued with his story.

"_I wouldn't know," Sephiroth resumed, "I don't have a hometown."_

"_What about your parents?" Cloud asked his superior._

"_My mother is Jenova," Sephiroth answered, "she died right after she gave birth to me, my father…" Sephiroth hesitated thinking about what he was going to say about his father before he laughed, "it doesn't matter," he finally said. "All right, let's go." Sephiroth entered the town and Cloud was about to follow him but he was stopped._

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Rewind!" Zack cut in causing Cloud to turn round, "Sephiroth said that the name of his mother was Jenova right?"

* * *

(End flashback)

Everyone was staring at Zack, "phew," Zack heaved a huge sigh of relief as he lifted up the ice pack to check on his tail, the bite marks were fading and the swelling was going down. "So I wasn't just imagining it then, eh Cloud," Zack said a little more sarcastically than he intended, but he was feeling bitter towards Cloud at the moment.

"I remember Jenova!" Barret added loudly, "it was that damn headless spook living in the Shinra building!"

Cloud nodded, "that's right," he answered.

"That thing was Sephiroth's mother…" Zack asked in a shocked tone, even though he already knew the answer he was merely humouring Cloud and the others.

"Barret, Zack, can we please hear what Cloud has to say?" Tifa pleaded as she glared at Barret and Zack.

"But Tifa…" Zack and Barret begged in unison.

Tifa ignored them, "ok Cloud continue."

"It was a reunion of childhood pals, right?" Aerith asked Cloud.

Cloud nodded, "yeah, I was really surprised with Tifa."

"Nice looking girl…" Zack cut in, "who wouldn't be surprised?"

"Zack…" Everyone else in the room snapped at the drag human.

"Hey, I'm just making the story a little more interesting," Zack defended himself, everyone ignored him.

"Anyway…" Cloud changed the subject, "the town was quiet, everyone must be staying in their houses, too afraid to come out because of the monsters…no…maybe they were afraid of us."

* * *

(Flashback)

_Sephiroth, Cloud and the two guards that had accompanied them arrived in Nibelheim, they came to a stop outside the inn. "We leave for the reactor at dawn," Sephiroth ordered his men, "make sure you get to sleep early," Sephiroth opened the door to the inn and was about to enter the inn when he remembered something and stopped, he turned round to face Cloud and the others. "all we need is one look out," he continued, "so you others get some sleep," a guard stepped forward as Sephiroth said this, Sephiroth turned his back on Cloud and the others, "that's right," he added as an after thought, "you can visit your family and friends," without another word Sephiroth entered the inn and Cloud set off to explore the town. _

_First of all he walked up to a house opposite the inn, _"this is…my house," Cloud explained to the group, "it doesn't have anything to do with the incident five years ago."

"Wait a minute," Zack spoke up a hint of cynicism in his voice, "I want to hear about what happened here, I want to hear all about what you did in Nibelheim."

"Me too!" Aerith exclaimed failing to notice the sarcasm in Zack's voice, "did you see your family?"

"I don't really want to talk about it," Cloud answered quickly_, and he left the house._

_He then walked over to the house next door and entered it, _

"Cloud!" Tifa yelled in shock, "did you go into my house?"

"Busted!" Zack shouted in a joking manner.

"Yeah," Cloud answered, ignoring Zack, "I thought you'd be home," _Cloud walked up the stairs and he pushed the door open into a large bedroom._

"Cloud!" Tifa yelled again, "Did you go into my room?"

"Yeah," Cloud admitted, _he entered Tifa's room he walked over to a chest of drawers and pulled the drawer open to reveal a pair of underwear._

"Cloud!" Tifa yelled a little scandalised that Cloud would go into her underwear drawer.

"I was kidding Tifa," Cloud reassured her, _he put the underwear back into the drawer._

Damn it Cloud!" Zack shouted, half sarcastically, still humouring his friend, "you should've taken the underwear!"

Aerith glared at Zack, "Zack!" She yelled wanting to slap him across the face.

"It's called a sense of humour Aerith, sheesh," Zack said in an exasperated tone, causing Aerith to become even more offended.

"Guys!" Tifa cut in, "we're talking about something serious here."

"Yeah," Zack interrupted as he grinned at Tifa, "Tifa's underwear drawer."

_Cloud walked away from the drawer, he walked to the other side of Tifa's room and he played on the piano before leaving Tifa's house and he entered the inn. Cloud climbed the stairs and he saw Sephiroth standing on the upstairs landing, near the window looking out. "This scenery…" Sephiroth mused he didn't seem to notice that Cloud was behind him, "I feel like I know this place..." Sephiroth turned round and he realised that Cloud was there, "we have an early start tomorrow," he stated abruptly, "you should get some sleep."_

"_Yeah, you're right," Cloud agreed as he stretched, he was feeling a little tired. He was about to enter the room when Sephiroth stopped him._

"_We're hiring a guide to the Mako reactor," Sephiroth informed Cloud, "I heard that she's young, I hope we can rely on her." Cloud yawned as he entered the room, he walked over to the bed nearest the door. Cloud sat down on the bed, he kicked his boots off, crawled into the bed sheets and he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow._

_Cloud woke up early the next morning, he climbed out of bed, put his boots on and strapped the Buster Sword to his back before running out of the inn. He ran to the other side of town where Sephiroth and the two Shinra guards were already stood there waiting for him. Sephiroth saw Cloud and waved over to him, "once the guide gets here, we're heading out," a fifteen year old Tifa wearing a white shirt, brown miniskirt, brown boots and a cowgirl hat came running up to the group, Tifa's father walked up to Sephiroth._

"_Listen to me Sephiroth," Tifa's father started to say with a worried tone, "in case something happens…"_

"_I'll be alright dad," Tifa cut in quickly, she hated it when her father worried about her like that, "I have two guys from SOLDIER with me," she then turned to Sephiroth and smiled at him, "hi, I'm Tifa, nice to meet you," Tifa said cheerfully as she held her hand out to Sephiroth, Cloud turned round when he heard the name Tifa._

"_Tifa!" Cloud exclaimed in shock, hardly daring to believe it, "you're the guide…"_

_Tifa pulled her hand back and she turned to face Cloud, "that's right," she answered surprised that Cloud would even ask that, "I just so happen to be the number one guide in this town."_

"_It's too dangerous," Cloud stated shaking his head, "I can't let you get involved," Tifa glared at Cloud when she heard this._

"_Then there's no problem if you protect her," Sephiroth replied calmly giving Cloud a knowing look and he made his way to the town exit. "Let's go," he ordered, the group were about to leave town when a man with a camera stopped them._

"_Errr…Mr Sephiroth…" the man stammered nervously as his hero turned to face him. "P…please can I take your picture…just as a memento…" the man turned to look at Tifa, "Tifa, can you ask him too?" The man pleaded as he pointed at Cloud. Sephiroth, Cloud and Tifa nodded and they walked back to the entrance of a large mansion. All three of them struck poses as the man held out his camera, "say cheeesssseee…" the man said as he pushed the button on his camera, there was a flash and a sound of the camera whirring, then Sephiroth, Cloud and Tifa relaxed. "Thanks," the man replied gratefully as he grinned at the trio, "once I get the film developed I'll give you guys a copy."_

"Was it ever developed? The film I mean," Zack asked curiously.

Cloud sighed, "I don't know…why do you ask?"

"Well, the picture was taken five years ago right?" Zack questioned, "I was just wondering if the film was developed and you had a copy of the picture…you know, as a memento, as the guy put it."

"Zack, can I just continue with my story?" Cloud yelled a little irritated now.

"By all means," Zack replied unfazed by Cloud's raised voice, "I'd like to see where this is going."

_After saying their goodbyes to the people of Nibelheim, the group set off up the mountain trail. The trail twisted and curved, but with Tifa's help, the group managed to get to an old rope bridge. "It gets harder from here," Tifa warned, "follow me," she ran half way across the bridge and Cloud followed her, Sephiroth was already at the other side when the bridge began to shake. "The…bridge…" Tifa stammered as the bridge snapped in the middle, Tifa almost fell off the bridge, but Cloud reached out and grabbed her just in time. The part of the bridge Cloud, Tifa and Sephiroth were on fell to the side of the mountain and the three began to climb. Once they were on safe ground again they all looked around._

"_Well everyone seems to be ok," Sephiroth stated calmly as though it never happened. "Can we get back to where we were?" He asked staring at Tifa._

"_These caves are intertwined just like an ant hill," Tifa answered as she pointed at some caves further up the mountain. "Oh and Sephiroth, there appears to be a guy missing."_

"_I know this sounds cold," Sephiroth responded, "but we have no time to go looking for him now, we must carry on. We'll travel together from here," Tifa led the way up the path and the group minus one guard entered a brightly coloured cave. _

"_What's this?" Cloud asked as he looked round the cave in awe._

"_A mysteriously coloured cave…" Tifa stated, she too was in awe at the beauty of the cave._

"_It must be the Mako energy," Sephiroth explained, "this mountain is particularly abundant with it, that's why the reactor was built here." The group carried on walking and they entered the next chamber, this room was larger than the other and it had a strange, glowing, green object in the centre of it._

"_And what's this?" Cloud asked as he stared at the fountain._

"_A Mako fountain," Sephiroth calmly stated, "a miracle of nature."_

"_It's so beautiful!" Tifa exclaimed as she walked over to the fountain, enticed by its beauty. "If the Mako reactor continues to suck up all the energy will this fountain dry up too?" Tifa asked with an air of sadness in her voice as the two SOLDIERs and the guard walked up to the fountain to take a look._

"_Materia," Sephiroth explained, "when you condense Mako energy Materia is produced,"_

"_Oh by the way, why is it that when you use Materia you can use magic too?" Cloud asked._

"_You were in SOLDIER and you never knew that?" Sephiroth asked light heartedly. Cloud shook his head, "the wisdom and knowledge of the Ancients is held in Materia," Sephiroth explained. "Anyone with this knowledge can freely use the powers of the land and the planet. That knowledge interacts between ourselves and the planet, calling up magic…or so they say."_

"_Magic…" Cloud mused as he continued to look at the fountain, "a mysterious power…" he asked, Tifa and Sephiroth burst out laughing when they heard Cloud say this. "Did I say something funny?" Cloud questioned staring at Sephiroth and Tifa._

"_A man once told me to never use an unscientific term like mysterious power," Sephiroth answered, trying hard not to laugh again, "it shouldn't be called magic, I still remember how angry he was," Sephiroth grinned as the memory entered his mind._

"_Who was that man?" Cloud asked curiously._

"_Hojo of Shinra inc," Sephiroth replied, "an inexperienced man assigned to take over the work of a great scientist, he was a walking mass of complexes."_

"_A Mako fountain…" Tifa whispered, "so this is where the knowledge of the Ancients is." The group walked out of the caves and up the mountain trail again, they eventually reached the reactor. "Phew…" Tifa let out a huge sigh of relief, "we finally made it, we sure took the long way through."_

"_Tifa, you stay here," Cloud ordered her as Sephiroth began to walk up the steps to the entrance._

"_Awww…" Tifa moaned, "but I want to see what's inside!"_

"_Only authorised personnel are allowed in" Sephiroth told Tifa as he stopped and turned to face her. "This place is full of Shinra's industrial secrets."_

"_But…" Tifa stammered but Sephiroth ignored her and turned to face the Shinra guard._

"_Take care of the lady," he ordered the guard as he and Cloud climbed up the stairs and entered the reactor. Tifa tried to follow them but the guard blocked her path._

"_Humph…man!" Tifa yelled as she stamped her foot angrily, she turned round and stormed off in a huff placing her hands on her hips. She then turned round and glared at the guard, "better take real good care of me!" She snapped at the guard, a hint of sarcasm in her voice._

_Cloud climbed down a ladder to the lower level of the reactor, Sephiroth had already entered the next room. Cloud walked into the next chamber to see several pods and Sephiroth stood at the top of the stairs trying to open a door with the word J.E.N.O.V.A engraved in the top of it. "That's Jenova right?" Cloud questioned as he wondered what Sephiroth was doing. "The lock won't open." Cloud stopped halfway up the stairs as Sephiroth walked back down them again and examined one of the pods._

"_Hmmm…this is the reason for the malfunction," he said as he pointed to a broken valve, "this part is broken, Cloud, close the valve." Cloud walked passed Sephiroth and he turned the valve closing it, Sephiroth walked down the stair and he examined a pod on the right. "Why did it break?" He asked himself as he looked through the window and he quickly pulled himself away. "I see now Hojo," Sephiroth spoke to himself, "but even doing this will never put you on the same level as professor Gast." Cloud walked up to Sephiroth after fixing the valve, Sephiroth turned to face him. "This is a system which condenses and freezes Mako, that is, when it's working properly. Now, what does Mako energy become when it's further condensed."_

_Cloud folded his arms and looked up at the ceiling as he thought of the answer. "Uhhhh…oh yeah, it becomes Materia," he answered._

_Sephiroth nodded, "right, but Hojo put something else in there as well, take a look." Sephiroth moved out of the way and Cloud walked up to the pod and looked through the window, he was shocked to see a monster in there. Cloud quickly pulled himself away and he fell to the floor._

"_W…what is this?" He stammered as he slowly picked himself up off the floor._

"_Normal members of SOLDIER are humans that have been showered with Mako," Sephiroth explained, "you're different from the others but still human. But what are they? They've been exposed to an extremely high degree of Mako, far higher than you."_

"_Is that some kind of monster?" Cloud asked as he gave a few fearful glances at the pod._

"_Yes," Sephiroth answered, "And it's Hojo of Shinra who is producing all those monsters. Mutated organisms produced by Mako energy, that's what these monsters are."_

"_Normal members of SOLDIER…" Cloud mused as he stared at Sephiroth, "Does that mean…you're different…" At these words Sephiroth held his head and started trembling, "S…Sephiroth…" Cloud stammered as he reached out to his friend._

"_N…no…" Sephiroth stuttered, "Was I…" he asked half to himself, he took out his sword and started to attack the pods viciously, Cloud leapt out of the way as he saw the sword being swung in his general direction. "Was I created this way too?" He slashed at the pod he looked in, "am I the same as all these monsters?"_

"_Sephiroth…" Cloud interrupted trying to get Sephiroth's attention, Sephiroth continued to slash at the pod. He eventually stopped and turned to face Cloud._

"_You saw it…all of them…were humans…" Sephiroth asked Cloud._

_Cloud shook his head, "Human, no way!" He yelled frantically, Sephiroth continued to stare at Cloud his sword was still drawn. _

"_I've always felt that ever since I was small…" Sephiroth continued, "that I was different from all the others…special in some way, but not like this…" Sephiroth shook his head, but both men suddenly looked up as a loud screeching sound could be heard from one of the pods. Smoke emitted from one of the pods and a half formed monster burst out of its prison, it screamed and crawled a few paces before it fell to the ground lifeless._

"_Am I…human…" Sephiroth's voice echoed in Cloud's mind, _"I didn't really understand what Sephiroth was saying at the time," Cloud explained, "I was even more surprised at the fact that Shinra was producing all those monsters."

* * *

(End Flashback)

"Damn Shinra!" Barret cursed loudly as he banged his gun arm in his other hand, "the more I hear about Shinra the more I hate em!"

"I guess that's one more reason to get revenge on the Shinra," Zack added as he checked on his tail again.

"Who would've ever thought that the Mako reactor contained a secret like that." Tifa stated as she moved closer to Cloud.

"It would explain the increase in the number of monsters lately," Red informed the group as he lay curled up near the fireplace. "I think we should listen to the rest of Cloud's story, right Barret?" The beast asked as he gazed at the man with gun arm.

"Yeah, sure…" Barret replied dismissively.

"It's not like I have a social life anymore," Zack added as he looked sadly at a reflection of himself in a mirror behind him.

"Tifa, you were waiting outside then?" Aerith asked as she looked at Tifa, Tifa nodded.

"We returned to Nibelheim," Cloud continued with his story and everyone settled down to listen to him again. "Sephiroth confined himself at the inn, he didn't even try and talk to me."

"Then he just disappeared right?" Tifa questioned.

Cloud turned away from the group again and he looked out of the window, "we found him in the biggest building in town," he answered, "it was called the Shinra Mansion, long ago the people from Shinra used to live in that mansion."

* * *

(Flashback)

_It had been a whole day since the incident at the reactor and Cloud woke up in the inn the next morning to find that Sephiroth was nowhere to be seen. He quickly got his gear together and he ran out of the inn, he ran through town and he saw that some of the townspeople were gathered outside the Shinra Mansion. Cloud walked passed them and he entered the mansion, he ran up the stairs in the main hallway and turned to his right, he entered a room and he saw the guard in the room staring at a stone wall. Cloud walked up to the wall and he pushed one of the bricks, some of the bricks moved to the side to reveal a secret staircase, Cloud nodded to the guard and he walked down the stairs and entered the basement. Cloud walked down the corridor until he came to a door, he could hear Sephiroth's voice on the other side of it. _

"_An organism that was apparently dead was found in a geological stratum 2000 years ago," Sephiroth could be heard saying, Cloud opened the door and crept into the room to see Sephiroth pacing round the room reading a book. "Professor Gast named that organism Jenova," Sephiroth threw the book he was holding to the floor, he grabbed another book from the shelf and read it. "X year, X month, X day, Jenova confirmed to be an Ancient. X year, X month, X day, Jenova project approved. The use of Mako reactor one, approved for use." Sephiroth lowered his book, "My mother's name is Jenova…" he stated clearly upset, "Jenova…Jenova project…is this all a coincidence?" Sephiroth resumed reading, Cloud was tempted to walk up to his friend and say something, anything that could make Sephiroth feel any better, but Cloud decided that it was better if he left Sephiroth alone. Cloud walked out of the library and left the basement._

_Cloud woke up the next morning in one of the bedrooms in the mansion, he crawled off the bed and grabbed his sword. Cloud ran down the landing and he entered the room with the secret staircase, he ran down the stairs and entered the library in the basement. Cloud walked passed the lab equipment and the book selves, he entered an office at the back and he saw Sephiroth sitting at a desk. "Who is it?" Sephiroth asked, he looked up at Cloud and he glared at him, "humph, traitor!" Sephiroth screamed at Cloud._

"_Traitor…" Cloud questioned as he gave Sephiroth a confused stare._

"_You ignorant traitor, I'll tell you!" Sephiroth answered as he stood up and turned his back to Cloud. "This planet once belonged to the Cetra," Sephiroth explained coldly, "the Cetra were an itinerant race, they would migrate in, settle the planet then move on…at the end of their harsh, hard journey they would find the Promised Land and supreme happiness." Sephiroth then turned to glare at Cloud again causing the latter to be creped out. "But those who disliked the journey appeared," Sephiroth continued with his explanation, "those who stopped their migrations, built shelters and elected to lead an easier life. They took that which the Cetra and the Planet had made and didn't give one whit in return, those were your ancestors." _

"_Sephiroth…" Cloud spoke up trying to snap Sephiroth out of it._

"_Long ago disaster struck the Planet," Sephiroth stated ignoring Cloud, he walked away from the desk and he faced the wall again. "Your ancestors escaped, they survived because they hid, the Planet was saved by sacrificing the Cetra. After that, your ancestors continued to increase," Sephiroth said the last part with disgust in his voice. He then turned to look at Cloud again, "now all that's left of the Cetra are in these reports," he pointed at the numerous papers littered on the floor._

_Cloud stared at Sephiroth, "what does that have to do with you?" he asked fear crept into his voice as he felt a shiver down his spine._

"_Don't you get it?" Sephiroth demanded as he walked back towards Cloud, but he didn't face the young SOLDIER, he looked down the hallway. "An Ancient named Jenova was found in the geological stratum of 2000 years ago, the Jenova Project. The Jenova Project wanted to produce people with the power of the Ancients…no…the Cetra! I am the one that was produced." _

_Cloud stared at Sephiroth in shock, Sephiroth didn't turn to face him, "p…produced…" Cloud stammered as Sephiroth nodded._

"_Yes!" Sephiroth snapped coldly, "professor Gast, leader of the Jenova Project and genius scientist, produced me."_

"_How…how did he…" Cloud began to ask, but Sephiroth wasn't listening, the man had begun to walk down the passageway. Cloud ran after Sephiroth, "S…Sephiroth!" Cloud called after his former friend._

"_Out of my way!" Sephiroth snapped as he carried on walking, "I'm going to see my mother!" Sephiroth walked out of the room and Cloud took off after him. He ran out of the mansion to find that the entire town was on fire. A man in a martial arts outfit was tending to the dead and wounded, the man looked up and saw Cloud._

"_Hey it's you!" He called out to Cloud, "you're still sane right?" he asked as Cloud nodded, "then get over here and help me!" Cloud ran over to the man jumping over some flaming debris as he did so. "I'll check this house, you check that house over there," the man ordered as he pointed at a flaming house on the other side of the street. The man then ran into a house, Cloud ran into the house that the man had pointed at but he soon came out again when he saw that the people in the house were dead. _

"_Terrible…" Cloud stated sadly as he stared at the town in shock, "Sephiroth…this is too terrible…" Cloud could hear screaming behind him, he quickly turned round and he saw Sephiroth slaughtering some of the survivors with his sword. Sephiroth took one look at Cloud with his icy green eyes, with an evil grin Sephiroth turned his back on Cloud and he walked through the fire as he made his way to the reactor. Cloud tore after Sephiroth and he entered the reactor to see the body of Tifa's father lying on the floor, Cloud shook his head sadly as he entered the next room. He arrived in the room just in time to see Tifa falling down the stairs, she had a long sword wound running the length of her stomach. Cloud ran up to the edge of the stairs, he looked up to see Sephiroth standing there grinning and he disappeared through the door. Cloud knelt down beside Tifa, she moaned as she felt Cloud's warm breath on her face, but she didn't open her eyes. "You promised…" she moaned sadly as tears formed in her eyes, Cloud could feel himself wanting to cry, how could Sephiroth do such a thing? How could he destroy a town and injure Tifa, he fought back the tears. "You promised that you'd come whenever I was in trouble…" Cloud picked Tifa up, he carried her to the other side of the room and leaned her against on of the pods. After tending to her wounds and making sure she was ok, Cloud ran up the stairs and entered the room which Sephiroth had gone in._

_Cloud entered the room and he saw Sephiroth standing in front of a strange looking statue of a woman. "Mother," he spoke to the statue, "let's take the Planet back together, I've thought of a great idea, let's go to the Promised Land."_

"_Sephiroth!" Cloud yelled as anger and rage built up inside him, "my family, my hometown! How could you do that to them?" Sephiroth merely laughed at Cloud's anger._

"_They've come again Mother," he stated calmly, "with her superior power, knowledge and magic. Mother was destined to become the ruler of this planet." He then spoke to the statue again, "but they…those worthless creatures, are stealing the Planet from Mother!" Sephiroth moved closer and closer to the statue and with all his strength he pulled it away from the wall and discarded it to reveal a large tank with a blue woman inside it._

_Cloud withdrew the Buster Sword and he pointed it at Sephiroth, "what about my sadness?" He demanded as he glared at Sephiroth, "my family…my friends, the sadness of having my hometown taken away from me! It's the same as your sadness!" Sephiroth turned round and laughed at Cloud, he held his sword in his hand._

"_Ha, ha, ha! My sadness! What do I have to be sad about?" He demanded in a mocking tone, "I am the chosen one, I have been chosen to lead this planet! I have orders to take the Planet back from you stupid people for the Cetra! What am I supposed to be sad about?"_

_Cloud shook his head angrily hardly daring to believe what he was hearing. "Sephiroth…I trusted you…no, you're not the Sephiroth I used to know!" For what seemed like an eternity the two SOLDIERs stood there staring at each other, they then both charged forwards as their swords met with an almighty clang._

* * *

(End Flashback)

"And that's the end of my story," Cloud stated as he finished his explanation.

"That's it?" Barret asked as everyone stared at him, "ain't there more…"

"I don't remember…" Cloud stated vaguely.

"What happened to Sephiroth?" Aerith questioned him.

"Yeah," Zack added, "what did happen to Sephiroth?"

Cloud turned round to face the group, "in terms of skill I couldn't have killed him," Cloud answered as he folded his arms.

"Official records state that Sephiroth is dead," Tifa informed the group, "I read it in the newspaper."

"But Shinra Inc owns the newspaper," Zack cut in as he walked over to the group and sat down on one of the beds. "And the Shinra would say anything to cover their backs, anything to keep the public calm and not knowing the truth."

"I want to know the truth," Cloud demanded, he too was confused about the whole thing, "I fought Sephiroth and lived, why didn't he kill me?"

"Yeah," Tifa agreed, "I'm alive too."

"Yeah," Zack stated as he thought about it, "it does seem a little fishy to me, are you sure it happened like you said?"

Cloud glared at Zack, "are you saying I'm a liar?" He asked through gritted teeth.

"No," Zack replied, "I'm just trying to find a logical explanation for the whole thing. Sephiroth's a highly skilled swordsman who can kill anyone, and yet, you and Tifa survived, something about that just doesn't add up."

"This whole thing doesn't make sense," Aerith added, agreeing with Zack, "what about Jenova? It was in the Shinra building right?"

Cloud nodded, "the Shinra had it shipped from Nibelheim to Midgar," he explained.

"But it broke out of the container it was kept in," Zack stated, "so someone must've broken it out."

"Sephiroth…" Cloud muttered under his breath.

"Damn it!" Barret yelled as he slammed his fist into the wall in frustration, "don't none of this make sense?" Barret stood up and he opened the door to the room, "I'm going, going, gone…and I'm leaving the thinking to you!" He pointed at Cloud and he was about to leave the room when Zack stopped him.

"Errr…Barret…" Zack spoke up as he grabbed Barret by the collar of his jacket, "it's getting late, can't we at least rest for the night?" Barret sighed, he knew Zack was right. He walked back into the room and he closed the door behind him, everyone chose a bed, except for Red because he didn't need one and they started to get ready for bed.

Before Tifa went to sleep she walked over to Cloud who had just removed his boots. "Cloud, I need to ask you something, how bad was I when Sephiroth cut me?" She asked, Cloud hung his head.

"I thought you were a goner," Cloud answered sadly, "I was really scared, why do you ask?"

"I just…I was just curious…that's all," Tifa replied thinking of what to say, "well…goodnight Cloud." She walked back over to her bed.

"Night Tifa," Cloud said back as he climbed into his own bed.

Zack was tossing and turning in his sleep as memories of Nibelheim and his confinement in the Shinra building flooded his mind. Many nightmares had filled his head at night these days and it was something he had grown used to, nightmares weren't exactly new to him anymore. But he wasn't accustomed to the sound of snoring, Barret was asleep in the bed opposite Zack and he was snoring loudly. Zack moaned as he put the pillow over his head and held it over his ears to drown out the noise. After another five agonising minutes Zack threw the covers off himself, put his boots on and walked over to the window. Zack opened the window and a gentle breeze hit his face refreshing him, he climbed out of the window and looked up at the roof. A grin crept on to his face as he jumped off the window ledge, he opened his wings and flapped them to stop himself from falling. He hovered in the air for a few seconds before he flew up to the roof and landed on it. He sat down cross legged on the roof his tail was drifting from side to side as he closed his eyes and thought.

"_I guess half of what Cloud was saying is true," _Zack thought to himself as the cool wind continued to blow on his hair making it even more unruly than normal. _"But at the same time…there's something a little off about what he was saying…so many gaps…" _

Half an hour later Aerith woke up suddenly, she looked to the left and she saw that Zack's bed was empty. "Where did he go?" Aerith asked herself barely above a whisper, she looked over at the window and she saw that it was wide open. She got out of bed, put her boots on and walked over to the window, she peered out of it but she couldn't see anything. "Zack!" Aerith called out into the night, "where are you?"

"I'm up here!" Zack answered, Aerith looked up and she saw Zack gazing down at her.

"What are you doing up there?" Aerith questioned as she continued to look up at Zack.

"I couldn't sleep," Zack replied.

"Well I can see that!" Aerith yelled up at Zack, "but why are you on the roof?"

"I needed somewhere quiet so I could think," Zack answered, "plus Barret's snoring was keeping me awake, I was this close to just strangling him."

"It does take quite a bit of getting used to," Aerith replied understandably, "but you learn to drown the noise out," she started to climb out of the window.

"Aerith...what are you doing?" Zack asked, he saw Aerith climbing out the window and it worried him greatly.

"Joining you," Aerith answered as she stood on the narrow window ledge, "give me a hand." Zack reached his hand down and Aerith grabbed hold of it tightly, Zack then pulled Aerith up and she sat down on the roof next to him. "Thanks," she replied gratefully.

"No problem," Zack responded he lay back on the roof, placed his hands behind his head and looked up at the sky. "It's so quiet up here, I can't remember the last time I was truly relaxed."

"This is the first time I've ever set foot outside of Midgar," Aerith admitted as she stared at him and seeing him again reminded her of how much she missed him and how much she loved him.

"And how are you liking the big wide world?" Zack asked as he looked up into Aerith's face, how he missed those beautiful green eyes and the charming smile that was ever present on her face.

"It's much more pleasant than Midgar," Aerith replied as she looked up at the sky, "this is the first time I've ever had a clear view of the sky." For a while Zack and Aerith lay on the roof of the inn gazing at the sky and pointing out constellations that they recognised. But there were still questions haunting Zack's mind, questions that he needed answers to and he felt that Aerith could answer at least one of his questions, Zack sat up and looked at Aerith who still had that faraway look in her eyes.

"You love him, don't you?" Zack questioned as he continued to stare at Aerith, his voice wasn't angry, rather it was sad.

Aerith snapped out of her dream like state and she turned round to look at Zack, "do I love who?" She asked unsure of what Zack was talking about.

"Cloud," Zack answered, "I saw the way you looked at him in the park in Sector Six when you were talking to him," Zack explained as Aerith continued to stare at him at a loss for words.

"You…you were there?" Aerith stammered as she finally found her voice, "why didn't you say anything?"

"Because…I was afraid," Zack answered as he hung his head sadly, "I mean with me looking like a…you know…" Zack looked down at his gloved hands as he said this, "I'm not exactly handsome anymore am I?" Aerith smiled at Zack and she placed her hand on top of Zack's and she stroked it gently to reassure him.

"That doesn't matter me," Aerith replied encouragingly as she continued to stroke the back of Zack's hand. "You're alive and well and that's what's important, the truth is…I never really forgot about you."

Zack looked up at Aerith, "you didn't…" He asked.

Aerith shook her head, "no," she answered, "I was so worried about you, and then when Cloud crashed through the roof of the church he reminded me so much of you and…Zack…" Aerith stopped when she saw that Zack had hung his head again, "something tells me there's something else on your mind."

Zack smiled ruefully, "I forgot you were a Cetra," Aerith stared at him, "Tseng told me a few years ago." Zack told Aerith before she could ask him how he knew.

"Tseng...told you..." Aerith uttered in shock.

"Yeah," Zack answered as he nodded. "Him and the Turks were following you alot and I wanted to know why. So I asked him, he said that you were special that you were an Ancient. That meant the you were of special interest to the Shinra, Tseng said that they had recieved orders to watch you."

"I got to know Tseng over the years," Aerith stated. "Even though he was alot older than me, I saw him as like a big brother."

"I know he cared, I could tell by the way he spoke about you." Zack replied as he took hold of Aerith's hand. "But it didn't stop him from following orders in the end." Zack added, he still remembered Aerith's capture and almost being blown up on the Sector Seven pillar. "Still, the question remains, why didn't you tell me?"

"I knew you were working for Shinra," Aerith answered as she defended her actions, "the last thing I wanted was for you to risk your job and your life just to protect me." Aerith hung her head but Zack placed a finger under her chin and gently pushed her face up to look at him.

"You are my life Aerith," Zack told her as he stroked the side of Aerith's face with his other hand, "it was the thought of you, the thought of seeing you again that kept me going all those years." Aerith smiled as she heard this and seeing Zack after all those years made her fall in love with him all over again.

"Oh Zack…" Aerith responded tearfully as she hugged him, "I thought I lost you."

"Hey come on," Zack stroked the back of Aerith's hair to reassure her, "you can't get rid of me that easily."

Aerith laughed nervously, "I guess you're right."

"Hey Aerith…" Zack asked while it was still fresh in his mind, "Did you really believe everything that Cloud was saying? About Nibelheim and Sephiroth…"

"Yes," Aerith answered as she and Zack quickly broke apart, "why do you ask?"

"It's just that…" Zack started as he tried to think about how he was going to say it. "Well, Cloud was detailed in some areas but vague in others, and he couldn't even remember the outcome of his fight with Sephiroth. That is…if it even happened."

"Well Tifa was cut up by Sephiroth and Tifa wouldn't lie," Aerith spoke up not daring to believe that Zack would even say things like that.

"I'm not questioning Tifa's reliability," Zack stated truthfully, "I'm questioning Cloud's, I know for a fact that not everything happened like Cloud said."

"How do you know?" Aerith quizzed giving Zack a questioning look.

"Because…I was there!" Zack snapped at Aerith causing her to shrink back, "I saw what happened…I watched helplessly as Sephiroth crossed the line between sanity and insanity. I felt the intense heat of the flames and heard the anguished screams of the townspeople, I was there on a mission with Sephiroth, remember?"

Aerith thought about what Zack was saying, "So…if you were there, where was Cloud?" Aerith asked as all the missing pieces in Cloud's story started to add up.

"Oh he was there," Zack answered, "but he wasn't what he said he was, Cloud's lying and I'm not gonna rest until I can prove it."

"I understand how you feel," Aerith stated sympathetically, "but you can't go around throwing accusations, besides, I don't think it's Cloud's fault."

Zack sighed, "I don't either, something's going on in his head which is making him act like this and I bet Sephiroth has something to do with it. I want to help him, but I can't tell him the truth it'll just harm him in the long run."

"He needs to discover the truth for himself," Aerith advised Zack, "all we can do is guide him to the door, Cloud has to walk through it."

Zack nodded, "yeah," he agreed, "you're right, I have to wait for the right time." Zack stood up and he stretched and yawned, "well, I guess I'm feeling tired after all," he stated as he opened his wings and flew off the roof. Aerith stood up and walked to the edge.

"Hey!" Aerith called out to Zack, "what about me?" She asked, Zack flew back to the roof and hovered at the edge of it.

"Sorry," he apologised, "I forgot you don't have wings," he flew above Aerith and picked her up by the waist. He carefully flew in through the window and landed on the floor in the room.

"Thanks," Aerith replied gratefully as she kissed Zack on the cheek and walked over to her bed and climbed into it.

"You're welcome," Zack whispered back to her as he walked over to his bed and crawled back into it, he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Tifa woke up early the next morning to the smell of something burning, she sat up and looked at the far wall to see burn marks on it. _"Odd," _Tifa thought to herself as she examined the burn marks with her eyes. _"I don't remember seeing those burn marks last night." _Tifa could hear deep breathing from the far side of the room, she looked around and she saw Zack lying in his bed fast asleep breathing deeply, jets of flames shot out of his mouth as he breathed. Tifa took another look at Zack before she had an idea. "Hmmm…" Tifa mused, she crept out of bed opened her bag and pulled out some bacon, eggs, sausages, oat cakes, tomatoes and plates and cutlery. She crept over to Zack, put some eggs, bacon, sausages, oat cakes and tomatoes on to one of the plates and held them up near Zack's face, making sure to keep her distance. A few seconds later more flames shot out of Zack's mouth instantly cooking the food, Tifa put the plate down and held up the next plate.

Cloud woke up as he smelt the cooking food, he sat up and looked around to see Tifa kneeling next to Zack as she held up another plate of food to the drag human's face. Cloud got out of bed and walked over to Tifa, "what are you doing?" Cloud asked as Zack breathed fire again and cooked another plate of food. "Whoa!" Cloud yelled jumping back as the flames narrowly missed him. "I didn't know he breathed fire in his sleep."

"I guess it's part of his mutation," Tifa answered, "and try not to yell so loud," Tifa warned Cloud as she pointed at Zack, "you'll wake him up and I've not finished cooking everyone's breakfast."

Cloud stared at Tifa, "you're using Zack to cook breakfast…"

Tifa nodded, "I never thought I'd say this," Tifa replied in a joking manner, "but Zack's mouth is actually useful for something."

Cloud chuckled, "he's a lock pick and an oven built into one," he added, "I guess you can't do much better than that." After a while everyone else started to wake up and Tifa passed the plates of boiling hot food to everyone, Zack was still asleep and Tifa had just finished cooking the last plate of food when Zack started to sniff it.

"Mmmm…" Zack murmured in his sleep, he drooled as he smelt the delicious food, "bacon…eggs…sausages…oat cakes…tomatoes…" He reached out to take a bite out of the food but Tifa moved it out of the way. "Aaaaahhhhh…Whoa!" Zack yelled as he fell head first out of the bed, the impact caused him to wake up suddenly. He lay on the floor for a few seconds dazed, then he pulled himself into a sitting position causing his tail to slide off the bed and stretch out behind him. "Hey…where's the food?" Zack asked, he looked around him and he saw that everyone was half way through eating theirs. "How did you cook everyone's breakfast so fast?" Zack asked as he stared at Tifa.

Tifa grinned, "oh…let's just say I had a helping flame," Tifa answered as she stifled a laugh.

"Helping flame…" Zack repeated the last two words that Tifa had said, then it hit him. "You were using me as an oven!" Zack yelled as he leapt to his feet and glared at Tifa. "How could you?"

"Oh that was easy," Tifa replied, "first I put the food on to a plate and held it in front of your face so you could…"

"That's not what I meant!" Zack shouted at Tifa, "I meant how could you use me like that?"

"Sorry Zack, "Tifa apologised and she held out the plate of food as a piece offering, "it just so happens that the plate of food you were smelling was yours anyway. I just moved it out of the way to see how you would react." She gave Zack the plate of food and he wolfed down the food.

After everyone had eaten their breakfast the group went downstairs to the lobby, they were about to leave when the woman at the desk called them over. "Excuse me, which one of you is Cloud?" She asked as she looked at the group.

"I am," Cloud spoke up as he stepped closer to the desk.

"I have a letter for you," the woman stated as she handed Cloud an envelope which had his name written on in fancy writing.

"Where did this letter come from?" Cloud asked.

"A lady was in here earlier," the woman explained. "She asked me if someone named Cloud was staying here, I said yes, she gave me this letter and asked me to give it to Cloud."

"Who was she?" Cloud asked.

"She didn't say, but she looked quite young though. "The woman answered. "She left as soon as she gave me the letter."

The group walked away from the desk and left the inn, they gathered outside. Cloud opened the letter and read it. "What does it say?" Tifa asked curiously as she looked at the letter.

"Head to Junon," Cloud read the letter out loud. "The quickest way is through the Mythril Mines."

"The Mythril Mines,"Zack repeated the last two words of the letter. "It's not that far from here?"

"Do you think Sephiroth is heading towards Junon?" Aerith questioned.."

"It's the only other major city on this continent," Zack stated. "And it's a port city which means he can cross the ocean to get to another continent."

"Where ever Sephiroth goes we won't be far behind," Cloud stated defiantly. "This letter has pointed us in the right direction, let's go."

The group started to leave Kalm and just as they reached the town's exit Zack caught the same toddler that bit him out of the corner of his eye and the kid was grinning evily. "YOU'RE EVIL!" Zack yelled at the kid causing everyone in the town to stop what they were doing and stare at him, "STOP MOCKING ME!"

"What are you yelling at Zack?" Aerith asked as she too was staring at Zack.

"It's that kid again," Zack answered and he pointed to where the kid was, "it's mocking me…" Aerith looked at the child and she saw it sat there in its buggy with an innocent expression on its face.

"Awww…that's sweet," Aerith stated as she stared admiringly at the kid, "I think you're being paranoid Zack," Aerith spoke to Zack as the group left the town.

"But…" Zack stammered, "The kid was giving me evils!" He looked back at the kid and he saw that the evil grin was back on its face. "You're doing this on purpose…" Zack muttered under his breath as he pointed his finger at the kid before he followed his friends out of town.

* * *

**Phew, I think this is the longest chapter I've written so far. A bit of a romantic moment between Zack and Aerith, and don't worry, you will find out how Zack escaped from the Shinra building just in a later chapter. Just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters and content, they belong to Square Enix.**


	7. Vicious Monsters and Wayward Ninjas

**Chapter 7: Vicious Monsters and Wayward Ninjas**

It had been a whole hour since the group had left Kalm and they were walking through the grassy fields. They eventually arrived at a marsh and they looked around. "Where to now?" Tifa asked as she looked at the marsh.

"I guess we go over the marsh," Aerith answered.

"Hmmm…" Zack thought out loud as he gave the marsh a sceptical stare, "I don't think we should just walk into that marsh." He warned as he knelt down to take a closer look at the marsh, the water bubbled slightly.

"But the Mythril Mines are just beyond this marsh," Barret stated as he pointed to a cave on the other side of the marsh, "so why aren't we crossing?"

"Zack's right," Cloud agreed with the drag human as he knelt down next to Zack. "Anything could be lurking under there."

"There has to be a way to cross," Aerith pleaded as she walked closer to the marsh. A small raven flew over their heads and landed in the marsh, it began to preen itself using the water. The water rippled underneath the unsuspecting raven which continued to wash itself, the ripples grew bigger and a large serpent like creature emerged out of the water like a breeching whale and swallowed the raven whole as it dived back into the marsh again. The group just stared in shock at what they had seen.

"And you wanted to cross," Zack broke the silence grinning smugly at Barret, Barret glared at Zack he wanted to argue back but he knew that Zack was right.

"What the hell was that thing?" Barret demanded as he looked back at the marsh which had calmed down again.

"A Midgar Zolom," Red explained, "a serpent like creature that dwells within the marshland, it waits for unsuspecting prey to tread into the water and it strikes."

"How do you know that?" Barret questioned giving the beast a sceptical stare.

"I read a lot in my spare time," Red answered as the group moved away from the marsh. They walked up a small hill until they came across a ranch, the group entered a ranch and they saw four tall yellow birds walking round in a large pen.

"Chocobos!" Aerith and Tifa squealed in excitement as the two women ran up to the pen. One of the Chocobos walked up to the fence and it let Aerith and Tifa stroke it. Aerith stroked the bird behind its ears and it let out a loud wark sound as it enjoyed the attention.

"They're so cute," Tifa stated as she cooed over the yellow bird she was stroking. Zack walked up to the pen and he looked at the Chocobos.

"I don't know why you girls are getting so excited," Zack scoffed, another Chocobo stepped up and it saw Zack's tail swinging to and fro. "They're just a bunch of oversized…Aaaaahhhhh!" Zack yelled in pain as the Chocobo bit his tail and started pulling it into the pen. "GET IT OFF ME! GET IT OFF ME!" Zack's claws sprang out as the pain surged through his tail, the other Chocobos saw this and they let out loud and frightened warks as they ran frantically round the pen.

"Aaaaahhhh!" Aerith and Tifa screamed they back away from the frightened birds as they continued to run round the pen. Cloud and Barret were stood back snickering to themselves.

"That's made my day," Barret whispered to Cloud as Cloud stood there grinning. A teenage boy wearing cowboy style clothing ran out of the stables nearby, he saw the Chocobos going berserk in the pen and he ran over. He leapt over the fence and he calmed the Chocobos down, he then walked over to the Chocobo that was still biting Zack's tail. The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out some greens, the Chocobo smelt the greens and it released Zack's tail. The Chocobo walked over to the boy and it munched on the greens he was holding, the boy patted the Chocobo on the head as it ate. Once the Chocobo had finished eating the boy leapt over the fence and he walked over to the group. Zack was massaging his tail where the Chocobo had bit it.

"Hey be careful there partner," the boy warned Zack, "you just scared the Chocobos, that's really bad for business, the name's Billy by the way," Billy smiled at the group as he told them his name.

"Do you own this place?" Tifa asked Billy, Billy nodded.

"Well…it's really my grandpa who owns it," Billy answered truthfully, one of the Chocobos walked up to him and he patted it on the head. "Me and my sister Chloe help out, she's currently in the stables." He pointed at the large building behind him, the Chocobo he was stroking dropped a shiny red orb into Billy's hand. "Hmmm…it looks like the Chocobo gave a gift, here," he gave the orb to Cloud, "I'm sure you'll find a much better use for it than me."

"Thanks," Cloud replied gratefully as he looked at the orb, "this isn't like any other Materia I've seen."

"That's Summon Materia," Aerith stated as she looked at the orb, "it'll come in useful so put it somewhere safe," Aerith advised Cloud and the man put it into his pocket.

"We need to get over the marsh," Cloud explained to Billy, "are these Chocobos up for rent."

"Sorry," Billy apologised as he shook his head, "you old folks are out of luck."

"Old folks…" Zack repeated what Billy said and he glared at the boy.

"We're all out of Chocobos," Billy told the group, "the Chocobos you see in the pen already belong to someone, we're just looking after them. You should try catching Chocobos from the wild."

"I don't see any other way around it," Cloud sighed as Billy placed his arm round Cloud's shoulder.

"Let's walk," Billy spoke to Cloud and he led Cloud to the stables, a few minutes later Cloud returned to the group holding a piece of purple Materia and some greens.

"What's with the purple Materia?" Zack asked as he stared at the orb.

"It's called a Chocobo Lure Materia," Cloud answered as he removed the armlet round his wrist and put the orb into it before reattaching it to his wrist. "It'll help us catch a Chocobo."

"And how much did that set us back?" Zack asked again as the group left the Chocobo ranch.

"Does it matter?" Cloud answered, "as long as we can catch some Chocobos we'll be fine." The group walked back to the fields Red was walking slightly ahead of the group sniffing the air.

"There are definitely Chocobos near by," the beast stated as he continued to sniff the air, "the scent is strong." They saw a Chocobo grazing not too far away, the Materia in Cloud's wrist emitted a purple aura and the Chocobo lifted its head up and looked at the group. It slowly walked up to them, Cloud reached slowly into his bag and pulled out a handful of greens. The Chocobo walked up to Cloud and it munched the greens he was holding in his hands, once the Chocobo had finished eating it let Cloud climb onto its back.

"That's one Chocobo," Cloud stated, "we just need four more." Half an hour later and five Chocobos plus Red ran across the marsh, the Midgar Zoloms didn't even detect them as the Chocobos sped across the marsh. Once the group were safely on the other side they dismounted and the Chocobos ran back across the marsh. The group walked towards the Mythril Mines but they stopped in their tracks when they saw a Midgar Zolom impaled on a large, sharp spike, a pool of blood was surrounding the spike.

"Ok…" Zack stated as his face went pale, "that's the most disturbing thing I've ever seen…"

"Did Sephiroth do this?" Cloud asked half to himself as he examined the dead Midgar Zolom.

"Our enemy is someone who can do this…" Aerith whispered as she placed her hand over her mouth.

"Let's just get out of here," Zack stated a little creeped out, "that thing is knocking me sick." The group moved away from the impaled Midgar Zolom as quickly as possible and they entered the Mythril Mines. The cave was very well lit as many miners used to come here to collect Mythril for weapons and armour. The group walked through the tunnels until they came across a large room with numerous vines leading to the upper levels.

"Hold it right there!" A voice echoed through the room causing the group to look around, they saw the tall, bald man wearing sunglasses stood on a ledge above them.

"It's Rude!" Zack yelled as he glared up at the Turk.

"You're from the Turks, right?" Cloud demanded as Rude smiled at the group.

"Well if you already know what we are then this won't take long," Rude stated not taking his eyes off the group. "It's really difficult to explain what the Turks do."

"Let me guess," Zack muttered sarcastically through gritted teeth, his claws sprang out and his long tail was standing on end, the spear end had opened up. "Kidnapping, right…"

Rude sighed, "to put it negatively…yes," Rude answered as he removed his sunglasses to clean them, "but that's not all there is to it anymore…" Rude fell silent as he tried to think of what to say, he wasn't really much of a talker.

"Sir!" A female voice echoed in the cavern, the group turned round and they saw a young women with short blonde hair wearing a blue suit stood on the other ledge. "It's alright Rude," the woman spoke up, "I know you don't like long speeches, so don't force it!"

Rude placed the sunglasses back over his eyes, "then Elena explain," Rude replied as he gestured at Elena.

"I'm the newest member of the Turk," Elena picked up where Rude left off, "thanks to what you did to Reno…"

"Give him our regards…" Zack muttered sarcastically causing Elena to scowl at him.

"Watch your mouth dragon boy!" Elena yelled at Zack as she pointed a gun at him. "Or I'll give you something to really worry about."

"Oooohhh…I'm shaking in my scales…" Zack retorted pretending to be afraid, Elena scowled at him again.

"As I was saying," Elena continued with her explanation, she still held her gun at Zack. "Thanks to what you did to Reno we're short on people, although because of that I was promoted to the Turks…"

"I guess they really let their standards slip!" Zack shouted at Elena the sound of a gunshot could be heard as a bullet zoomed passed Zack's ear and hit the wall behind him.

"That was just a warning shot!" Elena threatened Zack, "next time I won't miss!" She then continued with her explanation, "in any case, it's our job to find out where Sephiroth is headed and to stop you every step of the way…wait a minute…" Elena hesitated for a moment as a new thought occurred to her, "it's the other way round, you're the ones that are getting in our way!"

"Elena, you talk too much!" A more mature and commanding voice stated as Tseng walked up behind Rude. Elena gasped when she saw the leader of the Turks.

"Mr Tseng…" Elena stuttered, she was about to say more but Tseng held up a hand to silence her.

"No need to tell them about our orders," Tseng told Elena.

"Sorry…Tseng…" Elena apologised to her superior as her face turned the brightest shade of red.

"I thought I gave you other orders," Tseng reminded Elena, "now go, and don't forget to file that report."

"Oh…" Elena gasped as realisation hit her, "right…" Elena clicked her heels and saluted as she stood to attention, "very well," she stated a little more confidently, "Rude and I will go after Sephiroth who's heading to Junon harbour."

Tseng placed his hand over his eyes and shook his head, "Elena I don't think you understand…" Tseng stated in an exasperated tone.

"Oh!" Elena responded as she realised her mistake, "I'm…I'm sorry…"

"Go," Tseng ordered Rude and Elena, "and don't let Sephiroth get away."

"Yes sir!" Rude and Elena said in perfect unison and they went their separate ways to hunt for Sephiroth, but before Rude left something occurred to him and he turned to face the group.

"Reno said that he wanted to see you guys after his injuries had healed up," Rude passed on the message, "he said he wanted to show his affection for you all…with a new weapon."

Zack grinned, "yeah, tell Reno that we look forward to kicking his ass again!" Zack called up to Rude as the taciturn Turk turned round and left the cave.

"Well this is an interesting turn of events," Tseng stated as he stepped forwards, he eyed Zack, "an escaped experiment has teamed up with Avalanche."

Zack growled at Tseng, "I'm not an experiment…" he yelled through gritted teeth.

"Oh dear," Tseng replied in a mocking tone, "you've got quite a temper on you."

"Well you'd have a temper too if you were experimented on!" Zack retorted menacingly, Tseng appeared unfazed by Zack's remark.

"This may come as a complete surprise to you Zack, but you're not high on my list of priorities at the moment," Tseng stated.

"Am I supposed to be grateful?" Zack asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Enjoy your reprieve while you can," Tseng answered, "once Sephiroth has been dealt with, you'll be our number one priority."

"So nice to have a fan…" Zack snapped at Tseng, Tseng merely brushed the sarcastic comment off.

"Don't take it personally," Tseng stated calmly. "I'm only doing my job."

"Like you were when you captured me..." Zack snapped irritated by his old friend.

"My orders were to capture you alive," Tseng replied still in his same business like tone. "If I hadn't have gotten to you when I did you would've been dead."

"Instead I served as Hojo's guinea pig..." Zack snapped, "and you can see the result." Zack pointed to himself as he said this, he then remembered something or someone he once knew but hadn't seen for a while. "Tseng, I need to know, what happened to Cissnei?"

"That is highly classified information," Tseng told Zack.

"But..." Zack started to say when Cloud suddenly cut in.

"Forget it Zack, he's not gonna tell you anything," Cloud stated.

"You should listen to your friend Zack," Tseng told the drag human before turning his attention to Aerith. "Aerith," Tseng greeted the Cetra, "long time no see, looks like you got away from the Shinra for a while, now that Sephiroth has reappeared.

Aerith glared at Tseng and she placed her hands on her hips, "am I supposed to be grateful to Sephiroth?" She demanded.

Tseng shook his head, "no," he answered calmly as he continued to look deeply into Aerith's eyes, "well I won't be seeing too much of you, so take care," Tseng said in a kinder voice.

"Strange…hearing that from you!" Aerith scoffed not taking her eyes off the Turk.

"Well then" Tseng retorted, "stay out of the Shinra's way."

"Is that a threat?" Zack retorted.

"No," Tseng answered, "it's a warning, if you know what's good for you, you'll stay out of our way." Without another word Tseng left the room and the group climbed up the vine to the ledge where Rude and Tseng were stood, they left the cave and they ended up in the open field again.

"Hmmm…" Cloud thought for a while, "Elena said that Sephiroth was heading to Junon harbour right."

"Not to mention the letter also told us to head for Junon," Aerith added as she reminded Cloud of the letter he got in Kalm.

"But Junon's quite far away by foot," Tifa cut in, the group looked around and they saw a forest in front to the right.

"Maybe we could take a shortcut through that forest," Barret suggested, not having any more ideas the group entered the forest. After several minutes they became lost.

"We could use the forest as a shortcut…" Zack repeated what Barret said in a mocking tone while glaring at the man with a gun arm. "Great idea Barret…except there's one problem…WE'RE LOST!"

"Well at least I had an idea!" Barret snapped at the drag human.

"Guys!" Cloud shouted at the top of his lungs causing Barret and Zack to stop arguing and stare at him, "we'll find a way out of here!" Without another word the group carried on walking until they came to a new area of the forest. Zack stopped in his tracks.

"What is it?" Aerith asked Zack.

"There's something off about this place," Zack answered as he scanned the surrounding area, "I wouldn't go any further."

"Don't be ridiculous Zack!" Aerith scoffed, "the area seems perfectly fine to me," before Zack could stop them the others carried on walking and they got caught in a large net hanging them from a tree. Zack was about to run to his friends when laughter echoed through out the forest. "Who's there?" Zack yelled as he got into a fighting stance. "Show yourself!" A teenage girl, with short black hair, wearing a green tank top, white shorts, white boots and an armour pad on her right arm came out of her hiding place and stood on a tree branch above Zack.

"Hey!" She yelled at the drag human, "why didn't you get caught?"

"I guess I was too smart to walk into your trap!" Zack retorted as he flexed his clawed fingers, he was mentally laughing as he scanned the girl for potential weaknesses. She was cocky and arrogant, an obvious weakness, she was also immature and didn't look too skilled in combat. Zack quickly leapt out of the way as the girl launched a giant, four point shuriken star at him, the throwing star landed in a tree behind Zack. The girl leapt off the tree and grabbed her shuriken, she then leapt over Zack performing a backward somersault as she did so. Zack crouched down and he looked up at his opponent, her leap was good, but her left side was completely unguarded. Zack arched his tail and when the girl was at the right point he swung his tail and whacked her in the side knocking her to the ground.

The girl landed flat on her back a few feet away from Zack, Zack saw his chance, he leapt into the air, pulled his fist back and he let himself drop as soon as he was above the girl. The girl saw this coming and she rolled out of the way as Zack's fist smashed into the ground creating a small earthquake upon impact. The girl leapt at Zack knocking him off balance the two rolled until they came to a stop near a tree the girl landed on top. Zack kangaroo kicked the girl off him, the girl flipped in mid air and threw the shuriken at Zack, Zack knocked it away with his tail causing the shuriken to be impaled in a tree. The girl landed on the ground and she ran passed Zack pulling the shuriken out of the tree, she then launched herself at Zack, the drag human side stepped out of the way at the last second causing the girl to run headlong into a tree. The girl landed on her ass a little dazed, Zack shook his head at her, he turned round and ran to the tree where the net was suspended. He created a fireball in his hand and he threw it at the point where the net was tied to the tree. The net along with its captives fell to the ground, it opened up and Zack's friends scrambled out of it.

"Are you guys ok?" Zack asked as he helped Aerith to her feet.

"I'm fine," Aerith replied as she and everyone else stood up.

"We didn't even see the net," Tifa added as she looked around her, "who would leave a net lying around?"

In answer to Tifa's question the girl staggered slowly to her feet, Zack walked over to her and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt before pinning her against a tree. For the first time the two managed to get a closer look at each other and their eyes grew wide with shock. "YOU!" They both yelled at the same time as Zack released the girl out of shock and she pushed herself away from the tree and glared at him.

"You two know each other?" Cloud asked as he and the others stared at Zack and the girl in shock.

"Unfortunately," Zack muttered not taking his eyes off the girl. "Her name is Yuffie, I met her back in my SOLDIER days, in Wutai."

"You were in the Wutai wars..." Aerith questioned.

"Yeah," Zack answered. "A first class SOLDIER operative called Genesis went missing and he took several other SOLDIERS with him, it was my job to locate him." Zack explained. "We believed that he was in the Wutai region, that's when I met her."

* * *

(Flashback)

_Zack had made his through Fort Tamblin in Wutai, easily dispatching the Wutai Soldiers, he eventually reached a temple in the centre of the fort when he heard a strange voice causing him to skid to a stop. "One, avoid unnecessary training!" A young female voice echoed. "Two protect Wutai at all costs!" _

_"Three, ugly Shinra SOLDIER dudes...must be PUNISHED!"The voice yelled as Zack looked up the stairs of the temple to see a young girl wearing a green coloured gi, white shorts and white trainers stood there._

_"Who are you?" Zack asked curiously._

_"I'm Yuffie! Wutai's greatest warrior!" Yuffie boasted as she placed her hands on her hips. "If you want to go further you'll have to go through me!"_

_"A kid..." Zack uttered as he shook his head. "You shouldn't be playing here, it's dangerous. Go home to your parents."_

_The girl scowled at Zack before she threw a smoke bomb on the floor by her feet and she dissapeared before reappearing behind Zack. "You're the one who's going home!" She yelled causing Zack to turn round and look at her. "If you inssist on going any further then you have a fight on your hands.!"_

_Yuffie then charged towards Zack, the young SOLDIER not thinking that the girl was serious stood there before ruffling his spiky hair with his hand. "Great a kid wants to fight me...what do I do now..." He asked himself as Yuffie skidded to a stop in front of him. She looked up at him and couldn't help but feel a little intimidated, Zack was older, taller and stronger than she was and could probably knock her out with one flick of his wrist. However Zack also had an air of gentleness about which Yuffie could sense and she wanted to use this to her advantage._

_"Before I beat you to a pulp you need to introduce yourself," Yuffie told Zack. "Afterall I told you my name, it's only fair that you tell me yours."_

_"I'm Zack," Zack told Yuffie his name._

_Yuffie smirked before she thrust her fists out at Zack. "Whap! Pow! Bam!" Yuffie imitated punching sound effects as she thrust her fists out. "Take that! Bad Guy!"_

_Zack did nothing but stare down at the girl and right away he noticed her problem. She wasn't near enough to him for the punches to connect to his chest and her arms were too short to punch from that distance. Any normal SOLDIER would've taken advantage of this and would've beaten Yuffie senseless, but not Zack. Even though he was in SOLDIER he was a gentle soul and never really used violence unless he had to and he certainly wasn't going to beat up a kid, that just wasn't his style. "She's trying to protect her hometown," Zack thought to himself feeling sorry for Yuffie. "I guess I should just humour her..."_

_Zack stared at Yuffie for a few more seconds before he fell to one knee holding his stomach as though he was in pain. "Oh no...You got me!" Zack yelled as though he was in pain but he was grinning internally to himself. "Let her have her moment..." Zack thought to himself._

_Yuffie smirked, "there! That'll teach you to mess with me!" Yuffie boasted arrogantly as she placed her hands on her hips again. "Once again I've brought peace to Wutai!"_

_Yuffie then turned away from Zack and ran off, when Yuffie had gone Zack stood up again and smirked. "I gotta admire that energy," Zack stated as he turned round to face the entrance of the temple. "Well...back to work...I guess..." He added before he ran up the stairs and entered the temple._

(End flashback)

* * *

"I remember I beat the crap out of you that day!" Yuffie boasted as she started laughing.

"Actually I let you win," Zack corrected Yuffie as her laughter was cut short and her smirk turned to a scowl.

"You're lying!" She yelled.

"Nope," Zack replied as he shook his head.

"Not that it matters," Yuffie changed the the subject as she composed herself. "My skills have greatly improved since then."

"And I still beat you," Zack retorted causing Yuffie to scowl at him again. "I didn't fight you back then because you were only a kid and I didn't think you were serious. But this time I decided not to hold back."

"You had an unfair advantage, you're bigger and stronger than me...not to mention uglier..." Yuffie stated causing Zack to glare at her. "What happened, you fall into a vat of purple dye or something..."

"No...I was experimented on by Shinra." Zack told her.

"So they turned on you did they?" Yuffie asked half amused.

"I'm glad you're amused..." Zack muttered sarcastically.

"Why did you set that trap?" Tifa questioned changing the subject.

"I've gotta make a living don't I?" Yuffie asked as she looked at the group. "Listen I've got an idea, why don't I come with you?"

"I don't think so..." Zack answered sternly.

"Why not..." Yuffie grumbled. "You need someone with my skills."

"Yeah...about as much as I need a hole in the head." Zack muttered sarcastically.

"Maybe we should let her come with us," Aerith stated causing Zack to stare at her.

"I have three reasons why she can't come with us," Zack replied.

"And those are..." Aerith questioned.

"Reason one, she's annoying," Zack started to list off his reasons. "Reason 2, she's annoying and reason 3, I don't trust her."

"You said she was annoying twice," Red cut in.

"I know," Zack stated.

"I think we should let her come with us," Cloud replied.

"Didn't you hear what I just said?" Zack asked as he sighed in frustration. "Want me to list off the reasons again? Because I will..."

"Think about it Zack, if we let her come with us, we can keep an eye on her." Cloud told Zack his reason.

"Yeah...if we leave her here she'll just set more traps for other poor saps to fall into," Barret added.

Zack growled in frustration, "fine...you can come..." Zack finally gave in causing Yuffie to cheer. "But I've got my eye on you, if you so much as think about double crossing us then I will personally beat the crap out of you, are we clear?"

"Perfectly..." Yuffie answered slightly scared.

"Good," Zack stated satisfied. "Now you can start proving your worth by getting us out of this forest."

"No problem, follow me," Yuffie told the group as she started to guide them through the forest.

"I still don't trust her," Zack whispered to Cloud so that Yuffie couldn't hear him.

"I know," Cloud whispered back, "but it's not like we have much of a choice is it?"

"I guess not," Zack reluctantly agreed, "but if she tries to pull anything…"

"Then she'll have everyone to deal with," Cloud finished Zack's sentence.

"Come on guys!" Yuffie called back to the two men, "sheesh you guys are slow!" She scoffed as the group continued to follow Yuffie, ten minutes later the group left the forest and were out in the open field again. "Well I got you guys out of the forest just like I promised," Yuffie stated, "and look, there's Junon," she added as she pointed to a strange looking structure near the sea.

"Is that a cannon?" Aerith asked as she squinted to try and get a closer look at it.

"Yeah," Zack answered as the group walked closer to the structure, "a Mako cannon and a powerful one at that. One blast from the cannon could wipe out an entire city."

"Why would the Shinra want to wipe out an entire city?" Aerith asked unsure of why anyone would need a cannon with that much fire power.

"Not sure," Zack replied, after five more minutes of walking the group entered a small coastal town but the buildings looked dirty and rundown. The group looked around,

"What happened to this place?" Tifa questioned as she looked at the buildings in disgust, "it's so rundown."

"I heard that this town was beautiful once," Zack stated in answer to Tifa's question, "but then the Shinra built the city above and the town below has become polluted, many of the businesses had shutdown because everyone was moving to the city above."

"Why don't we go down to the beach?" Red suggested as he gestured towards some steps, "maybe we can find something useful." The group walked down the steps which led to the beach, they saw a young girl wearing a swimming costume kneeling at the edge of the water.

"Hey Mr Dolphin!" The girl called out over the water and she jumped up and down as a dolphin jumped out of the water and swam up to the girl. "My name is Pri…scil...la," Priscilla spoke to the dolphin, "now you say it," Priscilla could hear the sound of footsteps she turned round and she saw Cloud and the others stood behind her. "Who are you guys?" She asked not taking her eyes off the group, "are you members of Shinra Inc?"

Barret shook his head frantically, "no way!" He yelled a little more gruffly than he intended but he didn't like to be mistaken for a Shinra employee. "We're trying to bring down the Shinra."

"True story," Zack added nodding in agreement.

"That's how it is," Cloud replied with a shrug, Priscilla however wasn't convinced.

"I don't believe you!" She shouted vehemently as she jabbed an index finger into Cloud's chest. "Get out of here and leave us alone!"

"Great…" Cloud muttered as he rolled his eyes.

A loud roar could be heard as the ground began to shake all around the group, Yuffie pointed at the sea, "look over there!" She warned, everyone looked in the direction that she was pointing in to see a large sea monster emerge out of the water and stare at the group.

"Hey look out Mr Dolphin!" Priscilla yelled as ran towards the water.

"DON'T!" Zack tried to warn Priscilla but he was too late, the monster knocked Priscilla out with one powerful swipe of its tail and she began to sink in the water. "PRISCILLA!"

"We have to do something!" Aerith yelled as she paced round frantically.

"Right," Zack agreed, "I'll save Priscilla, you guys do something about that monster!"

"Zack wait…" Cloud started to speak but Zack ran straight passed him and dived into the water. The monster tried to snap at Zack as he dove in but he was already under the water and the monster couldn't get to him. He could hear the faint cries of pain from the monster as it was being attacked by his friends, but all he was focusing on now was Priscilla who was slowly sinking to the bottom. Zack increased his swimming speed and as soon as he got close enough to Priscilla he reached out and grabbed hold of her before swimming back to the surface. Zack took in several deep breaths as he and Priscilla reached the surface, he looked towards the shore to see that the monster was severely weakened by the onslaught it was getting. Zack could feel the water getting rougher as a tidal wave was approaching, he took a quick glance at the monster and saw it poised to attack.

"_The monster is summoning the wave,"_ Zack thought to himself, as he grabbed hold of a rock that was near him and he held on tightly to Priscilla to prevent her from being swept away. _"That must mean that it's on its last leg." _Zack braced himself as he felt the impact of the tidal wave, fortunately neither he nor Priscilla were swept away by it. Zack looked at the shore line again and he saw that the monster was dead, he released the rock and he started to swim back to shore dragging an unconscious Priscilla with him.

He reached the shore and he placed Priscilla face up on the beach and he began to check her vitals. "She's not breathing," Zack stated sadly as the others walked up to him, they were a little worse for wear but other than that they were fine.

"This is bad," Tifa added as the group looked at Priscilla forlornly, "you don't think she's dead do you?"

"If we help her in time she'll be fine," Zack answered, "Cloud," Zack looked over at the blond haired man, "do you think you could give her C.P.R?" Zack asked.

"Why can't you do it?" Cloud questioned.

"I'm sure Priscilla would love to see me when she wakes up…" Zack muttered sarcastically, "and I'm sure she'd love to smell dragon breath too."

"Fine, fine," Cloud said with a sigh as he shoved Zack out of the way and knelt down beside Priscilla. He pinched her nose shut with his thumb and index finger, took a deep breath and placed his mouth over hers forming a tight seal. He stayed there for a few seconds breathing into her while looking to see if her chest was moving up and down before pulling away. He sighed sadly when he saw that she still wasn't breathing but he refused to give up and tried again.

"Uh…ugh…" Priscilla coughed after Cloud's fifth attempt at C.P.R, she slowly sat up and looked up at Cloud.

"PRISCILLA!" A voice yelled as an elderly man ran down the steps towards the group. "Priscilla are you alright?" The man asked his voice was filled with concern as he looked at the soaking wet girl.

"She should be ok now," Cloud said to the man and with the help of his friends he explained everything that had happened.

"I see…" The old man mused when they had finished, "well all I can say is that it was a good thing you were all here otherwise Priscilla would've been…I can't even begin to imagine what would've happened…"

"It's ok," Zack cut in, "don't mention it." The man helped Priscilla to her feet and he guided her back to town. "So what do we do now?" Zack asked as he looked around at his friends.

"I guess we have to find a way to get to the city above," Red answered as he paced towards the steps, "but right now I think we should rest."

"Good idea," Yuffie agreed with the beast as she stretched and yawned, "fighting that monster sure took a lot of me."

"Speak for yourself!" Barret snapped as he glared at Yuffie.

"Yeah," Zack agreed with Barret, "I had to save Priscilla and I'm drenched here!" He complained as he shook himself off all over Yuffie.

"Hey watch it!" The ninja yelled as water went all over her.

"Come on," Tifa stated trying hard not to laugh, "maybe we can find someone who'll be kind enough to put us up for the night." The group walked up the steps and back into town as they walked down a street an old woman stopped them.

"You all look exhausted," the old woman stated as she gave the group sympathetic stares, "why don't you all come in and rest for a while?" She offered.

"Thank you, that would be most helpful," Aerith replied gratefully as the group followed the woman into the house. Zack grinned when he saw the fireplace.

"Alright!" He exclaimed as he created a fireball in his hand and threw it into the fire place causing it to ignite, "I can finally dry off!" Zack sat down next to the fire and started to dry himself off.

"I've heard what you all did for Priscilla," the woman explained, "you're all probably tired, if you want to get some rest then feel free to stay here," she stated kindly.

"Thank you," Cloud thanked the woman, she smiled and nodded and she left the room. Cloud smiled at Tifa, "which bed do you want?" He asked her.

"Hmmm…" Tifa thought for a while, "that one," she answered as she pointed to the bed nearest the window.

"Fair enough," Cloud agreed and he chose the bed next to Tifa, everyone chose their beds and got into them.

"Joy…" Zack muttered half to himself rolling his eyes as he saw Barret get into the bed on his left. "I get to be near the snorer…again…" Barret glared at Zack but he said nothing, he was too tired to be bothered by Zack's insult.

"Just try to drown it out," Aerith replied helpfully as she climbed into the bed on Zack's right, "or use earplugs."

"I like to be able to hear what's going on so that I'm not attacked in my sleep," Zack answered as he crawled under the bed sheets.

"You're so paranoid," Yuffie scoffed at Zack as she got into her bed.

"I've seen many horrors in my life," Zack replied as he glared at Yuffie.

"Oh really…" Yuffie asked in a mocking tone, "Have you looked in the mirror lately?" Zack gave Yuffie the V sign (**A/N, to avoid any confusion Zack was giving Yuffie the insulting V sign, not the other one.**) causing Aerith to gasp in shock when she saw it.

"Zack…" Aerith called out Zack's name in a scandalised tone.

"Aerith…" Zack called back Aerith's name in a mocking tone.

"Will you two keep the noise down?" Yuffie complained as she put a sleeping mask over her eyes, "I want to catch up on my beauty sleep!" Without another word the group fell asleep. Zack tossed and turned in his sleep as more memories flooded his mind.

* * *

(Flashback)

_It had been two whole days since Zack was found wounded on the hill over looking Midgar, he had been recaptured by the Shinra and was currently being held in the lab on floor 68 of the Shinra building. Zack was currently floating in a tank filled to the brim with Mako, he was completely naked and had countless wires connected to him, some were supplying him with food and some were monitoring his vitals. But the majority of the wires were pumping a strange colourless liquid into him, Zack was aware of voices talking all around him but the voices were muffled by the glass and he could barely make out what they were saying. However there was one voice in particular that Zack could hear as clear as day, a voice that he prayed to God he would never have to hear again and it made his skin crawl whenever he heard that high pitched, scratchy voice, a voice that he had grown to hate and fear. Whenever he heard that voice he knew that pain and anguish were just around the corner. _

"_Hmmm…" Hojo mused as he examined Zack closely while making notes on his clip board. "It's been two days and already his wounds have healed. The Mako tube and the substance we're pumping into him have sped up the healing process."_

"_Professor Hojo," one of Hojo's assistants, a young female in her mid 20s spoke up. "That substance that was injected into the specimen, was it Jenova cells?"_

_Hojo laughed when he heard that, "my dear girl," Hojo droned in his usual manner, "I have experimented on this specimen before and I know for a fact that Jenova cells don't work on him. True he gets all the benefits such as increased speed and strength, but Jenova can't communicate with him."_

"_So what is the substance that we are injecting into him?" A slightly older man asked Hojo._

_Hojo turned his attention to the man who had spoken, "that would be telling," he stated as he tapped nose. "He was a failed experiment in the Jenova Project," Hojo explained as he turned his attention to his captive, "but he is still useful to me and when I'm through with him, he'll be useful to the whole organisation. Involuntarily, he'll do exactly as I tell him, as more of the substance is injected into him, little by little, his humanity is worn away. Soon he'll be nothing more than an empty shell, a shadow of his former self, with his rebellious streak crushed he'll blindly follow orders. Ha, ha, ha!" Hojo cackled loudly and his assistants laughed along with him, they were still laughing when they left the lab. The lights were switched off as the door to the lab slammed shut behind them, Zack's eyes flickered and they fluttered open to reveal glowing yellow irises and jet black slits for pupils._

* * *

(End Flashback)

Zack woke up with a start shaking and he saw Aerith kneeling beside his bed with a worried expression on her face. "I saw you tossing and turning in your sleep," she replied as she grabbed hold of Zack's hand which was violently shaking. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," Zack answered as he gave Aerith a weak smile, "it was just a nightmare," Aerith stared deeply into Zack's eyes trying to determine whether he was telling the truth or not.

"Are you sure that's all it was?" Aerith questioned.

Zack nodded, "I'm sure," he replied.

"You will tell me if it was anything serious, won't you?" Aerith asked Zack as she gave him a pleading look.

Zack nodded, "Sure," he replied, he could hear loud music drifting in through the open window, "what's with the music?" He asked as he stared at Aerith.

"I'm not sure," Aerith answered truthfully, "one minute everything was silent and the next this jolly sounding music started playing."

"I wonder what's going on," Zack mused as he threw the covers off him, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and put his boots on.

"Whatever it is, it's big," Aerith stated, "everyone else is outside, come on!" Aerith ran out of the house, Zack stood up and he followed her, as soon as he stepped outside he saw everyone else gathered outside the house.

"What is that awful racket?" Yuffie complained over the loud music as she held her hands over her ears, "it's giving me a fucking headache!"

"I wonder what's going on…" Tifa questioned as she like everyone else was trying to find the source of the music, "do you think it has anything to do with the Shinra?"

"It's possible," Cloud answered, "I wouldn't put it passed them," the door to a nearby house opened and Priscilla who was now dressed in normal clothing walked down the steps and ran over to the group when she saw them. "Are you ok?" Cloud asked when he saw Priscilla.

Priscilla smiled and nodded, "I'm fine now," Priscilla answered a little flirtatiously but fortunately no one noticed, except for Zack.

Cloud smiled and nodded, "that's good to hear," he replied happily.

"Sorry for mistaking you guys for Shinra employees," Priscilla apologised to the group.

"That's ok Priscilla," Aerith replied kindly as the rest of the group nodded to show that they accepted her apology.

Priscilla smiled at the group, "and to show my appreciation for you saving my life, I'm gonna give you something really special," she held out a shiny red orb, "This is an amulet, so take real good care of it!" Priscilla warned as she gave Cloud the red orb.

"Is that Materia?" Yuffie asked as she crept closer to Cloud, "I was wondering if I could have a look at it," she tried to take the Materia but Cloud snatched it away just in time.

"Hands off Yuffie!" Cloud yelled at Cloud and he turned to face Aerith, "Aerith can you take care of this for me?" He asked as he handed her the Materia.

"Sure," Aerith replied and she put the new Materia in her bag out of Yuffie's reach, much to the ninja's disappointment.

"What's with the music?" Barret asked Priscilla quickly changing the subject, "It sure sounds lively."

"I heard they're rehearsing the reception for the new Shinra President," Priscilla informed the group causing them to stare at her in shock.

"Rufus…" Zack muttered half to himself, "it's gotta be."

"I gotta pay my respects to the new President," Barret added sarcastically as he stroked his gun arm.

"Grandpa and Grandma told me this beach was so beautiful when they were small," Priscilla explained, "But after the Shinra built the city above, the sun stopped shining here and the water became polluted. I was raised on that story and I hate the Shinra so much that I could die!" Priscilla shouted that last part like a bitter poison.

"You're not the only one who hates the Shinra," Zack replied sympathetically, "but we aim to put a stop to what the Shinra is doing."

Priscilla grinned when she heard this, "get them for me," she requested.

"Oh don't worry," Zack promised Priscilla, "that's exactly what we aim to do."

"Hmmm…" Aerith mused, "does this mean that Rufus is planning to cross the ocean too?"

"Most likely," Cloud responded, "The Turks said that they were after Sephiroth."

"Does this mean that Sephiroth has already crossed the ocean," Tifa questioned.

"Wherever Sephiroth goes, we go too," Cloud reminded the group.

"Didn't you finish Rufus off?" Red asked as he looked up at Cloud.

"No he left before I had chance," Cloud answered just as he answered the wind blew and peice of paper landed on the ground near Cloud's feet. Cloud picked it up and read it. "There is a boat leaving the Junon docks today at 1PM you have to get on the boat before then. Be careful, the city is heavily guarded." Cloud read the letter again before putting it in his pocket. "We have to get to the city above," he told the group.

"Maybe we can climb up the tower on the beach," Barret suggested but Priscilla shook her head.

"No, no!" She warned the group, "There's a high voltage current running underneath the tower, don't go near it, it's dangerous." Priscilla thought for a while and she had an idea, "but you may be able to get up there if Mr Dolphin helps you," she suggested, "come on, follow me!" Priscilla ran down the steps to the beach.

"High voltage tower…" Zack mused as he went over what Priscilla said, "I guess this means…"

"Cloud will be alright," Barret finished Zack's sentence as both men looked hopefully at Cloud.

"Yeah," Aerith agreed as she too looked expectantly at Cloud, "better leave it to Cloud."

"Err…" Cloud stammered as he realised what everyone was getting at, "I don't think…"

"We're counting on you Cloud," Red stated proudly as everyone in the group was now looking at their leader.

"Wait a second…" Cloud started to speak again, but no one was listening and they all turned and walked slightly away from him. Cloud sighed, he knew there was no way he could get out of it and he walked down to the beach. A moment later and the others walked down to the beach just in time to see Mr Dolphin jump high out of the water and land back in it.

"Now that's impressive!" Barret stated loudly as he continued to stare at the dolphin. "I ain't never seen no dolphin jump like that."

Priscilla giggled, "Pretty cool, huh?" She asked as she took a small whistle from round her neck and held it out so the others could see it. "Whenever I blow this whistle Mr Dolphin jumps for me," she explained her plan, "here Cloud, this is for you." Priscilla gave Cloud the whistle and the ex SOLDIER looked at it.

"A gift…" He questioned as he stared at Priscilla, "what do I do with it?"

Zack burst out laughing, "Well…" he stated a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "normal procedure dictates that you put a whistle into your mouth and blow it." Cloud glared at Zack when he heard that.

"Just ignore him," Priscilla stated as she wrapped her arm round Cloud and took him closer to the water. "It's easy, all you do is get into the water below the tower and blow on the whistle. Mr Dolphin will swim towards you and launch you into the air."

"That's it…" Cloud asked as Priscilla nodded, "ok," Cloud replied nervously, "here goes nothing."

"Good luck Cloud!" Tifa and Aerith cheered Cloud on.

"Hey Cloud, send us a post card when you get there!" Zack joked causing Cloud to scowl at him for a second before wading into the water, as soon as he was under the beam he blew on the whistle. The dolphin swam towards him dived under the water and placed its nose under Cloud's feet launching him into the air.

"!" Cloud screamed at the top of his lungs as he was launched into the air. He reached his arms out and grabbed hold of the pole as the dolphin dived back into the water again. Cloud looked down and grinned at the group as he slowly stood up and made his way to the main tower. Once he was safely there he climbed up the ladder and disappeared to the city above.

"Well," Barret stated as he looked back down at the others, "ain't no point in us waiting, let's find a way up to the top."

"Why don't we take the elevator?" Tifa suggested helpfully.

"You mean the elevator that's guarded by Mr Plod?" Zack asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "yeah…great plan, we'll get caught straight away."

"I think it's a great idea," Aerith agreed with Tifa.

Zack sighed, "fine you guys do whatever you want but I'm gonna climb the tower."

"Errr…high voltage…" Tifa started to say, but Zack wasn't listening, he opened his wings and flew towards the tower, his claws sprang out of the slits in his gloves and he climbed up the tower receiving an electric shock as he slowly climbed up the tower.

"Ouch…bzzzz…pain…bzzz…fucking hell…bzzz…" Zack complained as he continued to climb up the tower. After five agonising minutes Zack reached the top of the tower, his hair was standing up on end and his claws were still out. Zack panted as he fell to the ground exhausted. After a few seconds he staggered slowly to his feet and looked around, he saw that he was at an airport and he gasped in shock when he saw a giant airship. "Holy Shit!" Zack yelled at the top of his lungs when he saw it, "imagine travelling round in one of those." He ran passed the airship and entered the building on the other side of the runway, he hid in the shadows just in time as he saw four regular Shinra guards and a captain run out of room on the left and run through the corridor. As soon as the coast was clear Zack crept out of the shadows and walked down the corridor intending to follow the soldiers.

"What took you so long?" A voice rang in his ears, Zack skidded to a stop when he saw Aerith, Tifa, Barret Red and Yuffie stood near the elevator waiting for him.

"How long have you guys been standing there for?" He asked as he stared at them in shock.

"Too long," Barret muttered in answer to Zack's question as Aerith, Tifa and Yuffie giggled.

"What's so funny?" Zack demanded as he glared at the girls.

"You're hair…" Aerith answered as she struggled to contain her laughter, "it's standing on end…and you're claws are still out!"

Zack reached a clawed hand up to his head and he felt his hair. "Aaahhhh!" Zack yelled in pain as the static surged through him, Yuffie burst out laughing again.

"Talk about a shocking discovery!" Yuffie joked as she continued to laugh at the drag human. Zack growled under his breath, he walked over to Yuffie and touched her with a clawed finger. "!" Yuffie yelled at the top of her lungs as the electric shock surged through her. The ninja fell to the floor, her hair was standing on end.

"Shocking isn't it?" Zack asked mockingly as he grinned evilly at Yuffie.

"Pure…bzzz…evil..." Yuffie muttered under her breath as she staggered slowly to her feet and scowled at Zack.

"Why…bzzz…the…bzzz…hell…bzzz…did…bzzz…you…bzzz…do…bzzz…that?" Yuffie questioned in between shocks, Zack's grin grew wider.

"I had a lot of static in me," he replied, "I needed to get rid of it somewhere and you were laughing at me, oh and Yuffie, you're hair is standing up on end," Zack observed as he point at Yuffie's head.

"That's not funny!" The ninja yelled as she became flustered, but that just made the drag human laugh even harder.

"When you two are quite finished mucking around," Red cut in quickly changing the subject, "we need to find disguises if we're to successfully sneak through the base."

"Right," Zack agreed, "on my way here I saw some soldiers running out of a room on the other side of the corridor," Zack informed the group, "I think it might be a locker room, we could find some disguises in there."

"Good idea," Tifa complimented Zack, "which way do we go?" She asked.

"That way," Zack answered as he point in the direction he had come from, "it should be empty though, those soldiers appeared to be in a hurry, so now will be our chance to sneak in." Zack ran off back down the corridor and the others followed him. They entered the room at the end of the corridor and they saw that it was indeed a locker room, the room was a fairly decent size and it had several changing rooms.

"Some of these lockers are welded shut," Tifa remarked as she began examining the lockers.

"Just leave it to me," Zack responded as he walked up to the locker that Tifa was standing in front of, Tifa automatically stood back as the spear end of Zack's tail sprang open. Zack thrust his tail at the locker causing it to pierce through the door and stay there, Zack pulled his tail hard and the door was ripped off its hinges. The spear end of Zack's tail closed and he was able to pull his tail out of it. He repeated the process with all the other lockers that were welded shut, after a couple of minutes all the lockers were open.

Tifa looked into the locker that Zack had opened first and she found a Shinra guard uniform that looked to be her size. "I'm going to change," she stated as she picked the uniform up and walked over to the nearest changing room. "No peaking," she warned as she glared at Zack in particular and she entered the changing room. Soon the whole group had found uniforms that were their size and they went to the changing rooms to try them on. Ten minutes later Aerith, Tifa and Red came out of their changing rooms wearing Shinra guard uniforms, the masks and helmets completely covered their faces. Yuffie and Barret also came out wearing sailor suits. Yuffie burst out laughing when she saw Barret in his sailor suit.

"What are you laughing at?" Barret demanded as he waved his gun arm threateningly at the ninja.

"That's a cute outfit," Yuffie answered in a mocking tone.

"Cute!" Barret yelled at the top of his lungs causing Yuffie to shrink away in fear. Aerith and Tifa were stood outside Zack's changing room.

"I'm not coming out!" Zack called out to them.

"Why not?" Aerith questioned as she tried to take a peak in the changing room. "I'm sure it's not that bad."

Zack sighed, "Fine…" he gave in, "but try not to be too shocked," a clicking sound could be heard as Zack unlocked the changing room door and stepped out wearing a Shinra guard uniform, his friends stood there and stared at him.

"Well…" Aerith started to say, she tried to be reassuring, "it's not too bad…as long as we don't go anywhere that's too crowded…"

"Oh say what you really think Aerith," Zack muttered irritably, "it's bad isn't it?"

"Your wings and tail are sticking out," Barret said what everyone was thinking.

"I know that!" Zack snapped at Barret, "I'm gonna have to try something else." He stomped over to one of the lockers and pulled out a spare sailor suit.

"As much as I like to see you embarrass yourself by wearing that sailor suit," Barret remarked as Zack scowled at him, "I think you'll still have the same problem." Zack growled irritably as he threw the sailor uniform back into the locker.

"So what do you suggest I do?" He snapped as he glared at everyone.

"Just change back into your normal clothes," Tifa suggested helpfully, "and we'll think of something."

"Joy…" Zack muttered, "I was getting used to not having to hide in the shadows, alright, I'll go and get changed," he said with a sigh as he got back into the changing room and locked the door. A couple more minutes later and Zack stepped out of the locker room in his normal clothes.

"Ok," Aerith stated, "we're sorted…almost," Zack scowled at her when he heard her say that. "We should get out of here and find Cloud." Without another word the group walked out of the locker room and ran through the corridor, fortunately the corridors were deserted and even Zack could get through without too much trouble. They eventually entered the main city of Junon itself and the streets were filled with crowds of people, noise and confetti as the people cheered and welcomed their new President with great gusto. Rufus Shinra was sat in a white open topped stretch limo, he waved to the crowd as they cheered.

"Let's just kill him now and be done with it," Zack whispered as he started to charge forwards.

"No," Aerith whispered back as she dragged him back by his tail, "you're going to get us caught."

"Look at him," Zack remarked bitterly as he pointed at Rufus, "sat there all smug, I can't believe the people are buying all the bullshit he's feeding them."

"Well there's nothing we can do about it for now," Tifa told Zack, "we just have to follow him and see where he's going." The group carried on going being careful to remain in the back alleys, they could hear the loud booming voices of TV presenters in the sky box.

"What the hell was that soldier doing Tom?" One of the TV presenters asked his partner.

"Hmmm…I don't know Jerry," Tom replied, "but the crowd seem to be loving him, and look at the TV ratings!" A large TV screen on the side of one of the buildings showed a replay of a march and one of the soldiers doing remarkably well, the TV ratings had gone through the roof.

"Someone send that guy a gift!" Tom yelled through the microphone as the crowed cheered and roared. Thankful for the distraction the group continued to creep quietly through the streets, as Zack walked passed one of the back streets leading to the main street he noticed a small toddler which looked strangely similar to the one he saw in Kalm.

"_It can't be…" _Zack thought to himself wondering how the kid could've followed him. The toddler turned round and grinned evilly at Zack when he saw the drag human. Zack's eyes grew wide with shock before he grabbed his tail and scowled at the child. _"How did you know where I was?"_

"Zack are you coming?" Aerith asked as she turned round to face him.

"Huh…" Zack asked as he turned his attention to Aerith, "what?"

"What's wrong?" Aerith asked as she saw the look on Zack's face, "why are you holding your tail?"

"That kid," Zack whispered to Aerith as he pointed the child out, "it's here, it followed me." Aerith looked at the child and back at Zack.

"Don't be silly Zack," Aerith admonished, "it can't be the same child, sure it may look like the child we saw in Kalm but it's not the same one."

"But…" Zack stammered, "he…he was giving me evils…"

"I think you're being paranoid," Aerith replied, "now come on we can't stay here, we'll get caught." She grabbed Zack's hand and she dragged him through the street. Ten minutes later the group ended up at the dock, they saw a large cargo ship being docked.

"Ok," Barret whispered to the group, "so far so good."

"Errr…there's still one problem," Zack reminded the group, "ok, I was able to sneak through the city no problem, but how am I supposed to get on to the ship without anyone noticing?"

"We didn't think about that," Tifa admitted as the group started searching the dock for anything they could use to hide Zack.

"Hey guys! Over here!" Yuffie beckoned to the others to follow her without drawing too much attention to herself. The group ran up to her, "I think I found the answer to our problem," she stated as she pointed to a large crate.

"Oh no…" Zack disagreed shaking his frantically, "I'm not gonna spend the entire journey inside a crate!"

"It's only for the journey," Aerith said reassuringly as she stroked Zack's arm, "besides, there's no other way of getting you on the ship."

"Well you'll have to find another way to get me on to the ship," Zack stated stubbornly as he folded his arms, "because I'm not gonna be shoved into a crate…"

Barret walked over to the crate, he opened the lid and looked inside, "well there's plenty of room in it," he remarked as he continued to examine the crate. "There's some food in here so you won't get hungry, and there's some holes in there so you won't run out of air…"

"I don't care how much you try to sugar coat it Barret!" Zack snapped at the man, "there's absolutely NO WAY that I'm gonna go in that crate!" he turned his back on the group, "forget it, finito, fat chance, not gonna happen!" (**A/N, I don't actually own this quote, I wish I did though cos it's a funny line. The line comes from the game Jak 3 where they find a precursor glider. It's a funny line.**) Zack was so busy ranting that he didn't notice Barret, Yuffie and Tifa sneaking up behind him until they leapt on top of him and wrestled him to the ground.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Zack yelled as Tifa grabbed Zack's arms, Yuffie grabbed Zack's legs and Barret grabbed hold of Zack's tail. "Ow! Watch my tail you're pulling it!" Zack shouted, he struggled frantically as Barret, Tifa and Yuffie dragged him to the crate and shoved him in it. "This is cruelty you know that!" Zack continued to yell as Barret closed the lid, once they had made sure that Zack was securely in the crate, Tifa, Barret and Yuffie walked back over to Aerith.

"I think he's mad," Aerith stated as she stared fearfully at the crate.

"He'll get over it," Yuffie replied dismissively, "besides at least now he can get on to the ship too."

"I guess you're right," Aerith stated with a sigh, a large crane moved towards the crate that Zack was in and lifted it up, Zack slid from side to side as the crate was suspended in the air, but he was careful not to make any noise as the crane dropped the crate into the cargo bay and moved away. While all this was going on, Red was acting as a look out.

"He's coming!" Red warned the group as he spotted Rufus and a man wearing a green suit walk through docks towards the cargo ship. "Rufus Shinra is coming!"

"Quick everyone, on the ship," Tifa ordered as the group ran on to the ship and they hid near where Zack's crate was and looked out on to the dock from their hiding places.

"What's going on?" Zack whispered to Aerith who was hiding next to him.

"Some sort of send off procedure," Aerith whispered back as she watched the soldiers perform their send of. She noticed that one of the Soldiers had bright blue eyes under his helmet and she smiled. Once the procedure was complete the soldiers performed a special move that looked strangely similar to Cloud's finishing pose, much to Zack's annoyance.

"Well done," Rufus stated obviously impressed by the display, "keep up the good work for Shinra Inc." The man in the green suit paced up and down examining the soldiers, he stopped at the one on the far left.

"Gya ha ha!" He laughed loudly as he stared at the soldier, "and as for you, a special bonus," he handed the soldier a large sword, Zack's eyes grew wide in shock when he saw the weapon.

"Heidegger must be dumb if he doesn't even realise that he gave Cloud a new weapon," he pointed out to Aerith.

"Shhhh…" Aerith warned him, but she knew that Zack was right.

"A token of President Shinra's kindness," the man called Heidegger continued, "and don't you forget it!" Heidegger saluted and the soldier saluted back. Heidegger then walked back to Rufus.

"Once the word gets out that Sephiroth is here," Rufus spoke to Heidegger, "Cloud and his friends will show up too." Zack, Aerith, Barret, Tifa, Red and Yuffie all snickered quietly to themselves as they had crept on to the ship right under Rufus' nose and he didn't even notice.

"We'll crush them as soon as we find them!" Heidegger stated pompously as he banged his fists together.

"Yeah Heidegger," Zack muttered half to himself and half to his friends, "you've done a fine job so far…" everyone snickered quietly again.

Rufus turned towards the ship and the group quickly ducked out of sight, "we can't let them get away," he stated a little threateningly.

"Leave it to me sir!" Heidegger stated as he snapped to attention and saluted. "Gya ha ha!" He laughed loudly again causing Rufus to turn round a glare at him.

"I thought I told you to stop with that stupid horse laugh!" Rufus yelled at Heidegger as he turned round and walked on to the ship, he passed the group's hiding places without even spotting them. The group watched as Heidegger angrily attacked the soldiers before running on to the ship and walking passed the group. A couple of minutes later one of the soldiers crept on to the boat as the other soldiers left the docks. The soldier came to a stop at the group's hiding places and he removed his helmet to reveal blond spiky hair.

"How did I do?" He asked as the group crawled out of their hiding places.

"Not too shabby," Tifa stated happily as she gave Cloud a playful nudge, Cloud grinned and he returned the gesture.

"Wait," he stated as he looked around, "there's someone missing, where's Zack?" He asked.

"In here," Zack called out to Cloud and the blond haired man turned to face the large crate.

"Why are you in a crate?" Cloud questioned.

"Because Barret, Tifa and Yuffie shoved me into said crate," Zack complained causing Aerith to scowl at the crate.

"Well the soldier uniforms wouldn't fit you," she stated truthfully, "besides, we managed to get you on to the ship didn't we?"

"I guess so," Zack replied with a sigh he knew that Aerith was right, there was no other way to get him on to the ship. The ship's foghorn echoed through the ship followed by a message on the intercom.

"Attention! The President is safely on board and all the cargo is loaded, the ship is ready to depart, all employees report to their duties immediately!"

Cloud put his helmet back on and he looked at the group, "ok guys, we should spread out so that we don't get caught," Cloud advised the group.

"Right," they all stated in perfect unison as Barret, Tifa and Red ran up the stairs and on to the deck, Yuffie walked off but she remained in the cargo bay. Aerith remained where she was next to Zack's crate to keep the drag human company. She was surprised to see that Cloud was still there.

"Are you ok Cloud?" She asked as she stared at the soldier.

"I'm fine," Cloud answered half truthfully.

"Tifa went up to the deck," Aerith told Cloud, "why don't you go and talk to her?"

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Cloud asked Aerith.

Aerith smiled and shook her head, "of course not," she replied cheerfully, "go, I'll keep an eye on things down here," she offered as she gave Cloud a knowing look.

Cloud smiled back at Aerith, "thanks Aerith," he replied gratefully and he ran up the stairs that led to the deck and found Tifa. Aerith leaned against Zack's crate and her smile grew wider as she congratulated herself at her craftiness. She knew that Cloud loved Tifa and she was willing to do anything to get them together. The ship's foghorn sounded again and the cargo ship pulled away from the dock carrying its unexpected passengers and Zack and the others knew that they were one step closer to finding Sephiroth.

* * *

**Finally Chapter 7 is complete, sorry it's another long one, I guess it's becoming a bad habit. Chapter 8 will be coming soon. Just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy VII or characters and content, they belong to Square Enix. Jak 3 belongs to Naughty Dog.**


	8. Trouble on Board

**Chapter 8: Trouble on Board**

It had been five whole minutes since the cargo ship set sail from the dock in Junon and it was well on its way to the Western Continent. So far the plan went without a hitch and they were still laughing inwardly at being able to sneak on to the ship right under Rufus' nose without being noticed. Aerith was stood near Zack's crate and pretended to work in the cargo bay so as not to arouse any suspicion.

"Aerith," Zack called out Aerith's name as quietly as he could, the disguised Cetra turned to face the crate. "Do you have any crossword puzzles or anything I can do cos I'm feeling a little bored?" Zack requested still in a hushed tone.

"Hmmm…Let's see," Aerith replied as she rummaged through her bag, "aaahhh…here we go," Aerith stated as she pulled a puzzle book out of her bag, she opened the crate lid a tiny bit and she slipped the puzzle book and a pen into the crate and closed the lid.

"Thanks," Zack replied gratefully as he opened the puzzle book and he began to complete the crossword puzzle. "Hmmm…" Zack mused as he sucked on the end of his pen, "Hey Aerith, what's a seven letter word for condensed Mako?" Zack asked Aerith.

"Materia," Aerith answered instantly as she quickly shifted some small boxes around as a Shinra guard walked passed.

"Oh yeah…" Zack stated as realisation hit him and he hastily scribbled the word into the appropriate boxes. Another ten minutes went by and Zack had finished the first crossword puzzle. "Aerith, can I get out of this damn thing now?" Zack pleaded as he shifted himself to get into a more comfortable position.

"No Zack," Aerith admonished as she waved her index finger at the crate, "you can't get out of the crate yet," she reasoned, "you could end up getting caught."

Zack was about to answer when he heard the sound of vomiting, "he, he…" he laughed half to himself at the thought of some poor person suffering from motion sickness. "Sounds like someone hasn't got their sea legs."

"That's Yuffie," Aerith scolded Zack as she walked over to the ninja who was hunched over trying hard not to be sick again. "Are you alright Yuffie?" Aerith asked sympathetically as she patted Yuffie on the back.

"Yeah…" Yuffie answered as she looked up and smiled weakly at Aerith, "just…suffering…from…motion sickness…I'm not very good on ships or planes…"

Hmmm…" Aerith mused as she reached into her bag, "I think I have something that can help with motion sickness, just hold on." Aerith continued to rummage through her bag until she found a small bottle with a murky brown substance in it. "Here," Aerith spoke up as she handed the bottle to Yuffie, "drink this, it'll help to settle your stomach."

Yuffie opened the bottle and sniffed it, "Ewww!" Yuffie complained as she held her nose, "this stuff smells like shit!"

"Just drink it," Aerith commanded the ninja, "I'm sure it'll taste better than it smells." Yuffie shrugged her shoulders and she downed the liquid in one go, she pulled her face as the bitter taste hit her. Aerith gave Yuffie a satisfied smile, "see that wasn't so bad was it?" Aerith asked Yuffie, the ninja shook her head, then she realised that her symptoms had gone.

"Hey!" Yuffie exclaimed causing all the guards and sailors in the cargo room to stop what they were doing and stare at Yuffie, but they soon lost interest and resumed their work. "I don't feel sick anymore, thanks," Yuffie thanked Aerith as she gave the Cetra the empty bottle, Aerith put the bottle back into her bag and after making sure that Yuffie was fine she walked back over to the crate.

"You know," Zack remarked as he saw everything that went on through one of the holes, "you have everything in that bag."

Aerith giggled slightly, "Well I pack what's needed," she stated as she put the bag down next to her. "Yuffie wasn't feeling too well so I decided to give her some medicine to help. It seems to be working fine."

"Aerith, I've got a cramp in my tail and my back is really itching up a storm," Zack complained as he tried to shift himself into a comfortable position. "You know the area of my back right at the base of my wings, it's really irritating me and I can't reach it, do you think you could scratch it for me?"

Aerith shook her head, "nice try Zack," Aerith stated seeing through Zack's lie, "we made sure that the crate was big enough to fit you in so you shouldn't be getting cramp in your tail. And as for your back, well I'm not going to reach into the crate just so I can scratch it."

"Fine…" Zack replied in a huff, "Do you at least have a reaching pole or something so I can scratch my back myself?" Aerith sighed, she looked around until she found a metal bar, she opened the crate lid and gave the bar to Zack who immediately started scratching his back with it. "Oh yeah…" Zack muttered half to himself as he continued to scratch his back. "That's better…"

Aerith shook her head as she heard this, _"I guess it's gonna be one of those days," _she thought to herself as she watched the guards and sailors working. _"I guess I can't really blame Zack though, he's been cooped up inside that crate. At least he hasn't yelled or tried to break out of it, Zack…" _Memories of her time with Zack started to flood her mind and she smiled at each one. _"You were always so cheerful, no matter how dire the situation," _Aerith mused to herself as she continued to daydream. _"I guess that's what attracted me to you, I suppose it's different now what with you're…current situation." _Then another thought started to plague her mind, thoughts about Cloud. _"And Cloud…I met him in the same circumstances as Zack, and I was quite sure it was him at first. I guess I missed Zack so badly that I wanted to believe that it was him who fell through the church roof that day. I love Zack, I really do, but a part of me likes Cloud too. I'm not sure what to do…" _Aerith didn't have time to ponder the situation further as one of the objects of her thoughts walked down the metal steps into the cargo bay and over to her.

"Hey Aerith," the disguised leader of Avalanche greeted the Cetra.

"Oh…" Aerith stammered as she snapped out of her daydreaming, "I didn't hear you coming."

Cloud smiled ruefully under his helmet, "sorry about that," Cloud apologised, "I just thought I'd see how you were doing."

Aerith smiled back, "I'm fine," Aerith replied, "nothing much has happened down here…well apart from Yuffie throwing up but I've sorted that out."

Cloud nodded, "good," he responded and he looked over at Zack's crate, "he's not been giving you a hard time has he?" Cloud asked Aerith barely above a whisper, but Zack heard him.

"Hey!" Zack snapped as he banged his fist on one of the side panels, "I resent that!" Cloud and Aerith tried hard not to laugh.

"Keep your voice down," Aerith warned Zack, "they'll hear you." Zack was about to respond to what Aerith was saying when he heard a snapping sound as the ropes securing the crate down broke in half.

"Oh crap…" Zack muttered calmly as the crate slid to the other side of the room. "!" Zack yelled at the top of his lungs as the crate slammed into the wall on the other side of the room. Cloud, Aerith and Yuffie's eyes followed the crate as it kept sliding from one side of the room to the other, Zack continued to yell at the top of his lungs.

After the fifth time Cloud and Aerith with the help of some of the sailors managed to stop the crate and secured it down with steel chains, once the sailors were safely out of earshot Aerith and Cloud walked over to the crate and opened the lid. They looked in to see a very dizzy and thoroughly pissed off Zack, "Are you ok?" Aerith asked, her voice was filled with concern.

"Do I fucking look ok?" Zack yelled angrily as he glared at Cloud and Aerith, "you told me this damn thing was secured!"

"It was," Aerith replied, "we thought that the rope would've held the crate," Aerith explained to Zack as she gave him an apologetic look. "We're sorry Zack."

"I could've been killed you know!" Zack continued to yell.

"Well the crate is tightly secured now," Cloud reassured the drag human, "so there's no chance of this happening again."

"Too right it won't be happening again!" Zack snapped at Cloud as he tried to climb out of the crate, "cos I'm not staying in this thing any longer!"

"Not a good idea," Cloud stated as he tried to push Zack back into the crate, "if you get out now you'll blow our cover."

"Let's trade, you stay in the crate and I'll wander round the ship without a care in the world!" Zack continued to curse and yell for five whole minutes until Cloud and Aerith managed to calm him down and he reluctantly agreed to stay in the crate for a little while longer.

"I think he's pissed," Cloud whispered to Aerith as soon as Zack had calmed down.

"Can you really blame him?" Aerith asked Cloud as she cast a sympathetic look towards the crate, "He's been stuck in that crate bored out of his mind and for the ropes to suddenly snap..."

"Yeah," Cloud agreed, "I guess I'd be the same if I was in his position, we should make it up to him when we get to the other side."

Aerith nodded, "yeah," she replied, "I'm sure we'll think of a way to make it up to him. Say, you haven't seen Barret anywhere have you?" Aerith asked quickly changing the subject.

Cloud shook his head, "I haven't seen him for a while," Cloud answered shrugging his shoulders, "why do you ask?"

"No reason," Aerith answered, "I just hope he's not doing anything stupid."

"I'll go and see if I can find him," Cloud replied helpfully as he ran back up the stairs to the deck. As soon as he was gone Aerith walked back over to the crate.

"Zack…" Aerith called the drag human's name as quietly as she could, "are you ok in there?" She asked out of concern, for a while she got no response.

"What?" Zack eventually responded albeit irritably, he was still angry at what had happened.

"Are you going to be mad at me for the whole trip?" Aerith demanded as she placed her hands on her hips.

"No…" Zack replied an obviously lie in his voice, "I'm just trying to catch up on my reading," he stated as he licked his index finger and turned the page of his book.

"Ok, now I know you're mad," Aerith said matter of factly as she continued to stare at the crate.

"What makes you say that?" Zack demanded still pissed off at the Cetra.

"Since when do you read?" Aerith asked.

"Because I have nothing better to do!" Zack snapped causing Aerith to scowl at the crate. "Look," Zack continued to explain through gritted teeth, "I was shoved into a crate against my will, I've sat in this damn thing for a while now bored out of my skull. Not to mention that I was almost killed cos you guys didn't even secure the crate properly so you can understand if I'm mad right now!"

Aerith lifted the lid of the crate and Zack poked his head up, "Look," Aerith spoke up giving Zack a sympathetic look, "I understand how you feel, I'd be the same if I was in your position but it was the only way to get you on board, you understand that don't you?" Aerith asked giving Zack a pleading look.

"I guess so…" Zack sighed.

"I know it's been hard for you being cooped up in that crate," Aerith continued, "but, you sat it out and I appreciate that, and I don't blame you for snapping when the ropes gave way. We're sorry Zack, but when we get to the other side I'll make it up to you, I promise."

Zack grinned, "I suppose I could accept your apology," Zack stated, "just promise me you won't shove me into anymore crates or at this rate I'll probably be claustrophobic."

Aerith smiled and nodded, "don't worry," she reassured the drag human, "I won't put you into anymore crates." Zack was about to respond but the sound of footsteps could be heard. "Do you suppose that's Cloud?" Aerith questioned as she looked at Zack.

Zack shook his head, "no," he answered, "Cloud's footsteps aren't that loud, it sound's like boots and I'm getting an uncomfortable feeling."

"Me too," Aerith agreed, "it's like something bad's gonna happen." Not needing to be told Zack ducked back down into the crate, Aerith quickly closed the lid and she hid behind another crate. "Yuffie," Aerith whispered to the ninja, Yuffie turned to face Aerith, "get down," Aerith warned Yuffie and the ninja ducked behind the crate she was standing near. All three of them watched as they saw a silver haired man dressed in black and wielding a long sword walk down the steps and enter the room.

"Sephiroth…" Zack muttered under his breath as Sephiroth mercilessly killed the soldiers and sailors in the cargo room, his sword was caked in blood as the corpses lay round Sephiroth's feet. The silver haired man stopped in his tracks and he turned round, fortunately he didn't see Aerith, Yuffie or Zack so he turned round and walked through a door at the back of the cargo room.

"He was…" Aerith stammered hardly daring to believe it, "he was here on the ship all along." Yuffie was about to ask what Aerith meant when they heard a voice on the intercom.

"Emergency alert!" A female voice shouted through the intercom, "Reports of a suspicious character found! Those not on detail search the ship, report when found! Repeat suspicious character found! Those not on detail search the ship, report when found!"

"I hope Cloud and the others are ok," Aerith whispered her voice was filled with worry.

"We should find the others," Zack stated calmly as he climbed out of the crate, "I don't think there's much point in you wearing your disguises anymore." The two women stared at Zack and he sighed, "Fine…I know the drill…" Zack turned round and the two women got changed into their normal clothing. As soon as Aerith and Yuffie were changed the trio ran up the stairs and they soon found everyone else also in their normal clothing gathered on the deck.

"Everyone alright?" Tifa asked as Zack, Aerith and Yuffie joined the group.

"Ok, Tifa, Barret, Red, Aerith, Yuffie and Zack," Cloud stated as he looked at everyone, "everyone's here."

"We heard the intercom," Barret stated, "you don't suppose that suspicious character is…"

"Sephiroth…" Zack finished Barret's sentence for him, "without a doubt."

"Why do you say that?" Cloud asked casting a fearful look at the drag human.

"We saw him down there," Zack answered and with some help from Aerith and Yuffie he explained everything that happened in the cargo room.

"So he was here…" Cloud muttered under his breath as soon as Zack, Aerith and Yuffie had finished explaining. "We should find him and put an end to all of this before he kills more innocent people."

"It seems like the most logical thing to do," Red agreed with Cloud, "but it wouldn't be logical for all seven of us to go down there, so who's going?"

"Hmmm…" Cloud thought about this, "ok, Tifa, Zack and Aerith, come with me, the rest of you stay here and get out of sight." Everyone nodded to show that they understood, Barret, Yuffie and Red moved to somewhere out of sight while Cloud, Zack, Tifa and Aerith walked down the steps to the cargo room. They carefully stepped over the bodies and walked over to the door at the back of the room.

"Are you sure he went through here?" Cloud asked as he stared at the door.

Zack and Aerith nodded, "we're sure," Aerith answered, "there's no other way through." Cloud opened the door and the group went through it, they found themselves in the engine room. Aerith and Tifa gasped when they saw more bodies littered around.

"Why is he doing this?" Tifa asked as she held her hand over her mouth not wanting to believe that someone would actually go round killing countless people.

Zack turned round and stared at Tifa, "errr…this is Sephiroth we're talking about here," Zack answered shocked that Tifa would even ask such an obvious question, "he's a murderous raving lunatic."

"Yes, thanks for that Zack," Cloud cut in and the group carried on moving, their weapons were drawn and they were looking all around them so that they wouldn't be victims of a surprise attack. The group saw a captain standing next to a control panel he had his back to them.

"Hey buddy!" Zack called out to the man, his voice echoed through out the room as he walked over to the captain. "Is everything ok? Did Sephiroth do this?" The captain turned round to face the group he took a couple of paces before he collapsed to the floor and died. Zack knelt down beside the man, "hey come on!" Zack called out to the man again as he gently shook him.

"It's no good Zack," Cloud stated as he stared solemnly at the dead man, "he's dead."

After a few seconds the man's body disappeared, "whoa!" Zack yelled as he jumped back with a start. "Did you guys see that?" He questioned as he looked from Cloud to Aerith to Tifa.

"After a long sleep…" A mysterious voice echoed round the room the group looked around trying to find the source of the voice. "The time…the time has come…"

"Over there!" Aerith shouted she pointed towards the control panel as Sephiroth floated up through the floor and landed gracefully on his feet. His green eyes flashed as he grinned evilly at the group.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud and Zack yelled at the same time as they stared at their old friend and ex commander not wishing to believe that the man responsible for all their pain and suffering was still alive.

"How did you survive?" Zack questioned as he walked towards Sephiroth the hairs on the back of his neck were bristling and his tail was sticking straight out behind him.

"That's exactly what I want to know," Cloud added as he too walked towards Sephiroth, his sword was drawn, Sephiroth merely stared at the two men that were walking towards him.

"And you guys are?" He asked in a mocking tone causing Cloud and Zack to freeze on the spot and stare at Sephiroth.

"Don't you remember us?" Zack questioned as he glared at Sephiroth trying hard to resist the urge to attack him. "It's Cloud Strife and Zack Fair."

"Cloud and Zack…" Sephiroth mused as he repeated the names over and over in his mind.

"What the hell are you playing at Sephiroth?" Cloud demanded not taking his eyes off the silver haired man. "Why are you doing this?"

"Humph…" Sephiroth scoffed, "you know what curiosity does to the cat, the time…is now!" Sephiroth repeated his earlier statement.

"Enough of this bullshit!" Zack snapped at Sephiroth, "Tell us what you're planning!" Zack and Cloud walked towards Sephiroth again, but as soon as the two men approached him Sephiroth rose into the air and attacked the whole group causing them to fall to the ground and he disappeared. After a few seconds the group came to their senses and they staggered to their feet, Cloud and Zack started looking round frantically for Sephiroth.

"Where are you Sephiroth?" Cloud shouted hoping that it would entice Sephiroth out of his hiding place, but he didn't show up. "Show yourself!" Cloud demanded, still Sephiroth didn't show himself, Cloud kicked the wall, "damn it!" He cursed loudly, "He got away!"

"Errr Cloud…Zack…" Tifa stammered as she and Aerith took several steps backwards.

"What is it?" Cloud asked as he and Zack turned round and ran over to the girls.

"Whoa!" Zack yelled as the group saw a headless, mutilated, blue skinned monster with the figure of a woman. "Jenova…"

"Looks like Sephiroth left us a little play mate!" Cloud yelled as he glared at the monster. "I say we put this thing out of its misery!" With a yell Cloud charged forwards dragging his sword behind him aiming to attack it with a cross slash attack but Jenova knocked him back with its arm causing Cloud to be sent flying into the far wall. His back slammed into the wall and Cloud slid down to the floor stunned.

"Cloud!" Tifa yelled and she ran up to Cloud to see if he was ok, Jenova turned its attention to Aerith and fired a laser beam at her.

"Aerith look out!" Zack warned Aerith as he ran towards the Cetra and knocked her out of the way the laser beam striking where Aerith was stood a few seconds and the beam just narrowly missed Zack's tail.

"Phew…" Aerith breathed deeply as she slowly sat up, she smiled when she saw Zack kneeling next to her.

"Are you ok?" Zack asked Aerith as he helped her to her feet.

"I'm fine," Aerith answered as she smiled at Zack, "thanks, I thought that laser was going to hit me."

"You're welcome," Zack replied, a brown blur whizzed passed them as Tifa ran towards Jenova with her fist pulled back. Jenova tried to grab Tifa with its arms but Tifa was too quick for it, she easily dodged Jenova's arms and she performed a powerful beat rush attack on the monster hitting it with vicious punch and kick combos.

"YOU…FUCKING…BITCH…" Tifa cursed at the monster in between each strike, "I'LL…TEACH…YOU…TO…KNOCK…CLOUD…OUT!" Tifa continued to punch and kick Jenova in every available spot and she performed a couple of somersaults. Jenova roared in pain but it was still standing strong, a large and powerful beam zoomed across the room and struck Jenova injuring it further. Tifa, Aerith and Zack looked to the back of the room to see Cloud stood there with his sword pointed at the ground he was panting heavily. "Cloud!" Tifa yelled happily as Cloud rejoined the battle.

Zack hovered above the ground and he lifted Aerith up the two aiming to attack Jenova from the air while Cloud and Tifa attacked it from the ground. Jenova fired laser beam after laser beam at Zack and Aerith hoping to knock them out of the air but Zack was too quick and he easily dodged the lasers. The Materia within Aerith's staff glowed as ice began to cover it, Zack dropped Aerith a few seconds before he closed his wings in midair and let himself drop. Aerith and Zack fell, Aerith had her staff pointing down below her and Zack thrust his arms downwards his claws were outstretched and his hands were ignited with flames. The two landed on Jenova's shoulders and dug their weapons deep into Jenova's flesh dealing both fire and ice damage at the same time. Meanwhile Cloud and Tifa were busy attacking Jenova from the ground often switching sides to deal more damage, after a while the monster was defeated and all that was left was a mutilated arm that was pulsating on the floor.

"I've seen this somewhere before," Tifa stated as she took a closer look at the arm. "Sure is gross though."

"The arm of Jenova…" Cloud muttered under his breath as the arm disappeared.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Aerith replied her face went deathly pale.

"You're not the only one," Zack agreed, he then walked over to Cloud, "Sephiroth said that it was time for something."

"The time is now," Cloud answered as he repeated what Sephiroth had said.

"I don't get it," Aerith admitted, "Do you think you could explain it to us Cloud?"

"Yeah," Zack added, "maybe you can shed some light on this whole situation."

Cloud sighed, "fine I'll explain it," he reluctantly agreed, "but no interruptions this time," he scowled at Zack in particular and he walked away from the group. "Sephiroth went off searching for the Promised Land so he could become the ruler of the Planet," Cloud explained the situation, "that was five years ago…and now he's come back and killed President Shinra." Cloud turned round to face the group again, "and just now all of us saw Sephiroth."

"And wherever he goes he carries Jenova with him," Zack stated, "this is all just screwed up."

"Here's one thing I do know," Cloud continued with his explanation, "he told me that he wanted to go to the Promised Land with his mother, Jenova…I guess that's about it."

Zack, Aerith and Tifa thought about what Cloud said when the same female voice from earlier spoke into the intercom. "Dock workers we'll be docking at Costa Del Sol in five minutes! Prepare for docking!"

"I guess that's our cue to leave," Tifa stated as the group started to leave the room, Cloud and Zack stopped for a moment and they turned back to face the control panel.

"Sephiroth is alive…" Cloud stated as he continued to stare at the control panel.

"Yeah," Zack agreed, "hey Cloud, do you think that the Promised Land really exists?" Zack asked as he stared at his friend.

Cloud shrugged, "I don't know," he answered, "your guess is as good as mine, but if it does exist we have to find it before Sephiroth does."

"I guess you're right," Zack replied, "come on, we should get out of here." Cloud nodded and the two men were about to leave the room when they noticed something shiny on the floor. Zack bent down and picked it up, "looks like another summon Materia," he stated as he put into his pocket, "I'll give it to Aerith." Without another word the two men walked out of the engine room and five minutes later the whole group was safely at the port in Costa Del Sol.

"Damn!" Barret yelled as he shielded his eyes from the scorching sun, "sure is hot here, but I feel so much better now that I can say goodbye to that sailor suit. Alright, be sure to mingle like regular folks here!"

Aerith, Tifa and Yuffie started to giggle, "It's too bad really," Aerith stated as the three women tried to stifle their laughter.

"Yeah," Yuffie added agreeing with Aerith, "I really liked that sailor suit, it made you look cute Barret!" Yuffie broke into a fit of giggles.

"What do ya mean cute?" Barret demanded as he glared at the giggling women.

"Why don't you use that sailor suit as a pair of pyjamas?" Tifa suggested, "What do you two think?" Tifa asked as she turned her attention to Cloud and Zack.

"Awww…" Cloud cooed in a mocking tone, "You looked like a bear wearing a marshmallow."

"The hell's that supposed to mean?" Barret snapped as he glared at Cloud, "that suit happened to be the most comfortable, so shut the fuck up!"

"Relax Barret," Zack stated as he walked over to the man with the gun arm and leaned on his shoulder. "Cloud was paying you a compliment, it really suited you, it brought out a much softer side of you. A side we never knew you had."

"ARE YOU SAYING I'M GAY?" Barret yelled at the top of his lungs as he pointed his gun arm at Zack.

"N…no…of course not," Zack stammered as he stared down the barrel of Barret's gun arm, "I was just saying that you should keep the sailor suit."

"Would you all kindly hurry?" Red asked politely, he was panting heavily and the heat was starting to get to him. "The heat is drying out my nose."

"Oh…" Barret stated as he brought his gun arm down to his side, "sorry."

"Ok we'll take a break here for a while," Cloud told the group, "and we'll set off tomorrow, don't wander too far off."

"I'll wander wherever I damn well please!" Barret snapped at Cloud, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm headin' over to the inn I've got some errr…things to take care of." Barret ran off before anyone could say anything.

"I'm gonna see if I can find some more Materia, ciao!" Yuffie stated as she ran off in the same direction Barret did.

"I think I'm gonna walk round the town," Tifa stated, "maybe I'll see if I can buy a swimming costume so I can go swimming."

"I'll come with you," Cloud replied and he and Tifa left the dock together Aerith noticed that they were holding hands and she smiled.

"And I'm going to find a nice cool spot in the shade where I can lie down," Red said with a pant as he staggered slowly into town hoping to find some shade. As soon as Zack and Aerith were alone Zack turned round to stare at Aerith.

"What are you grinning at?" He asked as Aerith quickly wiped the grin off her face.

"No reason…" Aerith stated quickly but Zack gave Aerith a don't lie to me look.

"Oh ok…" Aerith gave in, she forgot that he was good at detecting lies, "I was grinning because Cloud and Tifa were holding hands as they walked off. They make a lovely couple don't they?" Aerith asked.

Zack nodded, "yeah," he agreed, "Cloud cares a lot about Tifa deep down and Tifa cares a lot about him, I wonder where that leaves us two."

"I don't know what you mean," Aerith replied trying to look innocent.

"Aerith, back when we were in Kalm," Zack started to ask he hesitated for a second but he continued with his question. "Did you really mean what you said? About you still loving me even after all this time."

"I meant every word," Aerith answered as she stroked the side of Zack's face, "I still love you Zack and I never will stop loving you."

"So you don't love Cloud then?"

Aerith stared at Zack too stunned to speak, true she liked Cloud but ever since Zack returned she couldn't stop thinking about him. All this time she thought that Zack didn't care about her and went off with another woman but when she saw him again she knew that all the rumours she heard weren't true. She found herself being conflicted between the feelings she had for the two men. True Cloud reminded her of Zack, _"what was I thinking?" _Aerith admonished herself, _"I can't like someone just because they remind me of someone else. That's just wrong, it's cruel and it's unfair and I would've just been living a lie." _It was at that moment that Aerith knew where her heart truly lay, and it wasn't with Cloud. _"Zack is my true love," _Aerith admitted to herself as she stared deep into Zack's yellow eyes. _"He may have physically changed and developed a sarcastic wit but he's still the same old Zack on the inside. I know deep in my heart that I love Zack and nothing is going to change that." _

Aerith smiled at Zack, "no Zack," she answered truthfully, "I don't love Cloud, not anymore. I realise now that me and Cloud were never meant to be, my destiny lies with someone else." She hugged Zack, "my heart belongs to you."

Zack smiled and he hugged Aerith back, "and my heart belongs to you," he said back, they were about to kiss when they noticed that some sailors and jet skiers were staring at them so they quickly broke apart. "I think we should head into town," Zack stated, Aerith nodded in agreement and the two left the dock hand in hand and entered the town.

Zack and Aerith walked through the resort town first of all they saw Red XIII lying down underneath the cool shade of a nearby building while three young children were playing football near him. Zack was sorely tempted to kick the ball at the beast but one scowl from Aerith dissuaded him. They saw Yuffie working at the Materia shop next to the inn.

"Hey guys!" Yuffie called over to Zack and Aerith and they walked over. "I thought that seen as I was here I'd take on a job, just to earn myself a bit of money."

"That's great Yuffie," Aerith stated encouragingly as she smiled at Yuffie, "it's nice to see that you're doing an honest days work, isn't it Zack?" The Cetra stared at Zack as she asked this.

"Errr…yeah…" Zack replied, he knew that Yuffie and honesty didn't go down too well together but he didn't want to say it out loud, Yuffie grinned at Zack and Aerith.

"Do you guys want any Materia?" She asked as she held out a tray of shiny green orbs, "I'll give you guys a discount, but don't tell my boss."

"No thanks," Aerith replied politely, "we're gonna explore the town for a bit, but we'll see you at the inn later."

"Ok," Yuffie replied she was still smiling but she felt a little disappointed, "see you guys later," she waved Zack and Aerith off and she continued with her work.

Zack and Aerith descended the steps to the beach and they saw that it was full of people sunbathing and jet skiing. "You know, maybe when all this is over we should take a long vacation here," Aerith suggested as she gazed longingly at the sunbathers and she wished that she could lie there among them relaxing without a care in the world. "I mean, I'd have to go shopping for a new bikini and you'll need some swimming shorts…"

"Swimming shorts…" Zack interrupted Aerith as soon as he heard the words swimming shorts. "I don't think me and swimming shorts make a very good combination at this moment in time."

"Why not?" Aerith demanded as she stared at Zack and placed her hands on her hips, "I'm sure it won't be that bad."

"I think people would be afraid if they saw me on the beach wearing swim shorts," Zack answered as a thought about people running away as soon as they saw him walk on to the beach plagued his mind and he shuddered at the thought.

"It was just a thought," Aerith stated unable to hide the disappointment in her voice, she continued to look round until she saw Cloud and Tifa stood at the edge of the beach staring at something. "Hey, there's Cloud and Tifa," Aerith stated quickly changing the subject as she pointed in the direction that Cloud and Tifa were in and she and Zack walked over to them. "Hey guys!" Aerith greeted Cloud and Tifa as she and Zack stopped next to them.

"Hi Aerith, hi Zack," Tifa returned the greeting and she smiled at them.

"What are you staring at?" Zack asked.

"That guy over there," Tifa answered as she pointed over at a strange looking man wearing a white over coat lying in a deck chair obviously enjoying himself. "I think it might be Hojo."

"Really…" Zack mused as he stared at Hojo, he started to walk towards Hojo.

"Zack where are you going?" "Aerith questioned as she watched Zack walk off.

"I'm gonna talk to Hojo and get some answers!" Zack replied not turning to face Aerith.

"Wait for us!" Aerith called after Zack as she and Cloud ran after him, the three of them eventually reached Hojo. He had his eyes closed and his arms were behind his head, Zack stood right in front of Hojo and glared at the scientist with his glowing yellow eyes.

"Having fun…" Zack asked with a snarl not taking his eyes off Hojo.

"Yes I am actually," Hojo answered calmly not realising who he was talking to, "do you mind moving a little to the left?" Hojo requested as he gestured with his hand for Zack to move, "you're blocking out my…" Hojo opened his eyes to see Zack stood right in front of him growling under his breath. "And you are…"

"Don't play dumb with me Hojo!" Zack snapped at the scientist he was in no mood for Hojo's riddles or cryptic remarks. Hojo sat up and took a closer look at the drag human.

"Aaaahhh yes," Hojo spoke up as he finally remembered where he had seen Zack before. "You were one of my experiments, I'm afraid I don't remember your name though."

"It's Zack…" Zack answered through gritted teeth, his hands were balled into fists and they were shaking violently as he tried so hard to resist the temptation to throttle Hojo right there and then. "And don't you forget it!"

"My, my," Hojo responded in a patronising tone, "it seems like someone has a very short temper."

"Well you'd have a short temper too if you were experimented on!" Zack snapped as he snarled menacingly at Hojo, Hojo however wasn't fazed.

"Hmmm…" Hojo mused as he continued to stare at Zack, "yes, it seems that my experiment was shall we say…partially successful."

"You mean how I escaped before you had chance to brainwash me," Zack stated as he continued to glare at Hojo.

"Call it whatever you wish," Hojo retorted not really caring what Zack said or did. Hojo was about to say more but he was interrupted.

"What the hell are you playing at Hojo?" Cloud demanded as he stepped forwards next to Zack.

"I thought that would've been obvious," Hojo answered a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "I'm getting a tan…" Hojo looked up again he saw Cloud standing next to Zack and he grinned evilly, "long time no see…Cloud."

"It's nice to know that remembered my name," Cloud muttered under his breath, like Zack he was finding it difficult to resist the urge to kill Hojo.

"Hmmm…it seems we're all after the same goal," Hojo mused as he stood up and walked closer to the group.

"You mean Sephiroth…" Cloud questioned not taking his eyes off Hojo.

"Did you see him?" Hojo questioned inquisitively as he stared intently at Cloud and Zack.

"What's it to you?" Zack snapped at Hojo, "we all know that you're the cause of all this, you and your twisted experiments!"

"I see…" Hojo stated slowly as he paced up and down, "hmmm…ha, ha, ha!" Hojo laughed manically causing Zack and Cloud to glare at him.

"What's so funny?" Zack and Cloud demanded at the same time causing Hojo to suddenly stop laughing.

"Nothing," Hojo answered vaguely, "I just remembered a certain hypothesis, have you two ever had the feeling that something was calling you?" Hojo asked curiously as he continued to scrutinise Cloud and Zack, "ever felt the need to visit some place…"

"We'll go wherever Sephiroth is!" Cloud snapped at Hojo and Zack nodded in agreement, "to put an end to this once and for all!"

"I see…" Hojo mused, "Sephiroth was the ultimate Soldier, but with my recent research put into consideration…" he gave Zack a knowing look and his grin grew wider, "it would be interesting to see how this turns out."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Zack demanded he was hating Hojo more and more as each second went by.

"You were both in SOLDIER right?" Hojo questioned curiously, "how would you both like to be my guinea pigs?"

"And how would you like to meet my claws?" Zack retorted as his claws sprang out of the slits in his gloves and he charged at Hojo. Cloud had taken his sword off his back and he pointed it at Hojo, both men were scowling at Hojo.

"Are you both going to kill me?" Hojo asked a tiny hint of fear in his voice.

"Don't tempt us…" Zack hissed menacingly at Hojo, he was about to claw the scientist when Aerith stepped up and dragged him away.

"Zack, Cloud please…" Aerith pleaded with her friends, not wanting them to kill anyone in public. "We need to get answers from him and we can't get any answers if he's dead." Zack and Cloud sighed, they knew that Aerith was right, they stepped away from Hojo, Cloud put his sword back on to his back and Zack's claws retracted. Hojo stared at Aerith.

"Say, aren't you the Ancient?" Hojo questioned as he walked closer to Aerith.

"I'm Aerith," Aerith answered boldly not willing to take any crap off the scientist, "the least you can do is remember my name. I want you to tell me something Professor Hojo," Aerith started to ask some questions she desperately wanted answers to. "I know that I'm an Ancient, my mother told me…"

"Your mother…you mean Ifalna…how is she?" Hojo asked in a mocking tone causing Aerith, Zack and Cloud to scowl at him.

"Didn't you know?" Aerith demanded shocked that Hojo would disregard her mother like that. "She died!"

"I see…" Hojo stated indifferently causing Aerith to become further irritated by Hojo.

"Professor Hojo…" Aerith continued to ask her questions, "is Jenova an Ancient? Is Sephiroth an Ancient? Do we all have the same blood?"

Hojo turned away from the trio and he started mumbling unintelligibly, "head west…" were the only two words that Cloud, Zack and Aerith could pick up.

"He's mumbling," Aerith stated to Cloud and Zack as the three of them were now thoroughly pissed off at Hojo's vagueness and cryptic remarks. "That means he's hiding something." Hojo walked back to his chair and sat down in it remaining silent, believing that he had already said too much.

"Hey!" Zack snapped at Hojo as he stomped towards the scientist hating Hojo for his lack of manners. "The lady asked you a question, the least you can do is answer her!"

"Just leave it Zack," Cloud said with a sigh, "he's not gonna tell us anything, let's just leave him to it." Cloud and Aerith walked off but Zack remained behind, he was stood right in front of Hojo again and before the scientist could react Zack grabbed Hojo by the collar of his lab coat. Zack dragged Hojo up and pressed Hojo's face against his own so that the scientist could smell Zack's warm breath.

"You're a cruel, sadistic bastard Hojo," Zack whispered menacingly in Hojo's ear. "One day, you're gonna get what's coming to you," Zack tightened his grip on Hojo's lab coat. "And I'm gonna make it my sworn duty to make sure that you get exactly what you deserve."

"Is that a threat?" Hojo questioned trying to sound brave but deep down he was afraid of the drag human.

"No, it's not a threat," Zack continued to threaten Hojo, "it's a promise, what goes around comes around Hojo. And maybe you should think about that when you decide to mutilate your next victim!" Zack threw Hojo back into his chair and he stormed off leaving Hojo sat there a mixture of fear and confusion on his face.

* * *

It was early evening by the time everyone had arrived at the inn, well almost everyone. Zack and Cloud had almost finished a game of pool when Aerith and Tifa had entered the inn after spending a day browsing round the shops. They saw Yuffie sat at a table and they went and joined her, Red was lying on a rug next to a fireplace. Zack was in the process of taking his shot and Cloud was stood next to him.

"Come on Zack," Cloud goaded the drag human, "this is an easy shot…you can make this." Zack took his shot, he potted his ball into the far corner pocket but he also potted the white ball into the same pocket immediately afterwards causing Cloud to laugh. "That was an easy shot!" Cloud shouted still laughing his head off. "How could you have missed that?"

"You were putting me off!" Zack snapped at Cloud as he pointed an accusing finger at the ex SOLDIER.

"Come on Zack, that's loser talk," Cloud bragged as he took the white ball out of the pocket and placed it on the table. "Looks like it's two shots to me," Cloud stated as he prepared to take his shot, he breathed in deeply as he took his shot he potted the black ball thus winning the game. Zack stared at Cloud too shocked to speak.

"You cheated…" Zack finally managed to utter.

"How can you cheat at pool?" Cloud asked shrugging his shoulders.

"That was an impossible shot," Zack remarked, "There was no way you could've made that shot."

"Are you saying you could've dragon boy?" Cloud asked as he grinned at Zack.

"Maybe…" Zack replied vaguely grinning back at Cloud.

"Alright then Mr Smart Ass, why don't you put your money where your mouth is?" Cloud proposed as he took out the black ball and the white ball and placed them in seemingly impossible positions. "50gil says that you can't make that shot."

Zack grinned, "You're on," Zack agreed with the terms and he shook hands with Cloud. Zack looked carefully at the table planning his move, he took a deep breath and took his shot. The black ball bounced off the sides of the table and fell into the corner pocket. Zack grinned at Cloud and he held his hand out, "alright Cloud, hand it over." Cloud muttered unintelligibly as he handed Zack the 50gil. "Thanks very much," Zack boasted as he placed the money into his pocket. Aerith and Tifa were laughing when they saw this.

"They've been at it since they returned to the inn," Yuffie commented as she too looked over at where Cloud and Zack were stood, "I guess that was their tenth game."

"So who won overall?" Aerith asked curiously, Yuffie just shrugged her shoulders.

"Dunno," Yuffie answered in a bored tone, "I kind of lost interest after their fifth game." She looked over at the bathroom, "Barret's sure been a long time."

"What do you mean?" Tifa questioned.

"The inn keeper said that Barret has been in the bathroom all day," Red answered as he, Cloud and Zack walked over to the table. "Seems to think that Barret had a bit of a…problem."

"Like a bowel problem?" Zack asked the beast trying hard not to laugh, Red was about to answer when Barret stomped into the room. "Barret, we know you have bowel problems but hogging the toilet all day was a bit extreme wasn't it?" Zack questioned in a joking manner, Barret glared at Zack and he pointed his gun arm at Zack.

"I DON'T HAVE A BOWEL PROBLEM!" Barret snapped at Zack causing the drag human to stare down into the barrel of Barret's gun arm again.

"So why were you in the bathroom all day then, hmmm?" Zack asked as he gave Barret a sly grin.

"I was err…" Barret stammered thinking of what to say without embarrassing himself. Unfortunately Yuffie saw the sailor suit poking out of Barret's bag.

"You were trying out your sailor suit weren't you?" Yuffie asked patronisingly as she too gave Barret a sly look.

"I WAS NOT!" Barret snapped at Yuffie not wanting to admit the truth even though his friends knew. "I'm gonna go to my room!" Barret stated and he stormed off to his room and slammed the door shut before anyone else could say anything.

"I think he's mad," Tifa whispered as she cast a guilty look towards Barret's room.

"He'll get over it," Zack stated, "He knows we were only messing around."

"I think we should all just go to our rooms," Aerith suggested helpfully quickly changing the subject. "I mean we have an early start tomorrow, right?"

Cloud nodded, "yeah, you're right," he agreed with Aerith, "we should all get some sleep, I want everyone to meet in the lobby bright and early tomorrow morning, understand?"

"Yes," everyone replied in perfect unison and they started to walk towards their rooms. Everyone had entered their rooms and only Zack and Aerith were left out side in the corridor.

"Well…" Aerith started to say something but she decided to think better off it. "Night Zack," she finally said as she walked over to the door to her room.

"Yeah, night Aerith," Zack bid Aerith goodnight and they both entered their rooms. Zack walked over to his bed and flopped on to it, he turned himself round so that he was lying on his back. Zack placed his hands behind his head and he stared up at the ceiling, he let out a sigh as he slowly drifted off to sleep not bothering to remove his boots or climb into the bed sheets. The sounds of the ocean soothed Zack and he had no recurring nightmares.

The group were already gathered in the lobby when Cloud showed up and they were soon on their way heading in the direction that Hojo had reluctantly given them and after a couple of hours they were climbing over a vast mountain range. They saw a guy sat at the edge of the mountain telling them that he saw a man wearing a black cape pass through the mountain and Avalanche wasted no time in climbing the mountain and after walking along some train tracks and almost falling through some cracks the group finally came to a draw bridge which was currently standing up right and blocking their path.

"How are we going to get across?" Tifa questioned as the group stared at the obstacle in their way. Zack scanned his surroundings he looked upwards and he saw a small shack jutting out from the upper tracks.

"There's as shack up there," Zack answered as he pointed up to it, "maybe there's a lever inside it that could drop the bridge."

"But the shack is too high up," Red observed as everyone stared at the shack, "which would mean that we all have to go back and take the upper path unless…" Everyone was staring at Zack.

"What?" Zack asked as he saw that everyone was staring at them.

"Zack you can fly," Cloud stated as he pointed at Zack's wings, "So why don't you just fly up there and find the lever?"

Zack sighed, "Fine…I'll go," Zack opened his wings and with one powerful flap he hovered in the air and he flew up towards the shack. "Why don't you go up there Zack…" Zack complained to himself as he landed next to the shack. "You can fly…big deal…" He entered the shack and he found it to be a bit of a tight squeeze. "Sure is cramped in here," Zack stated as he moved with great difficulty, "there should be a lever here somewhere," he started looking round for a lever and he eventually found one, "aaahhh…here it is," Zack pulled the lever, he carefully backed out of the shack and flew back down to the others just as the bridge came down and the group quickly crossed it. After a while they reached a small shanty town with people wandering around gathering scrap material.

"Wait here guys," Barret said to the group as he stepped forwards, a group of men stopped what they were doing and stared at Barret. One of them walked up to Barret and punched him hard in the face, Barret flinched but he didn't cry out.

"Well lookey here!" The man snapped as he glared at Barret, "never thought I'd ever see your face round here again! They kick you out of another town or somethin'?" The man asked in a mocking tone not taking his eyes off Barret, "Did you destroy everything you touch?" The man looked over at Cloud, Tifa, Zack, Aerith, Red and Yuffie, "those people travelling with ya?" He asked as he pointed at Barret's friends, "I feel sorry for them having to travel with a bum like you! You got a lot of guts coming back here! Just look at this place!" The man continued to yell at Barret as he gestured at the shanty town, "It's your fault that North Corel was turned into a garbage heap! Why doncha say something?" The man demanded as he glared at Barret again, "or did ya forget what you'd done here already?"

"I'm sorry…" Barret muttered his apology as he stared down sadly at the floor.

"Fuck man!" The man cursed loudly at Barret, "you ain't even worth the effort! Don't waste your time talking to that techno freak!" The man warned the townspeople as he moved away from Barret, everyone got on with what they were doing as the rest of Avalanche walked up to Barret.

"You heard em," Barret stated refusing to look at his friends, "it's my fault this town was…destroyed…" Before anyone could offer Barret any encouraging words the man with the gun arm ran off and Cloud and the others wandered round the town searching for him. They eventually found him standing at a ropeway station in front of a bright blue cable car.

"Would you care to explain what happened back there?" Zack demanded as the group walked up to Barret, Barret turned to face them.

"Sorry…" Barret apologised.

"What happened?" Cloud questioned firmly not taking his eyes off Barret.

"My hometown used to be around here," Barret reluctantly answered, he knew that there was no way out of it.

"What do you mean used to?" Red asked he took was eager to find out more.

"It ain't here no more," Barret replied an air of sadness in his voice, "I heard it got buried…four years ago."

"But how could those people say all those horrible things?" Aerith quizzed shocked that people would bad mouth Barret like that.

"Yeah," Zack agreed whole heartedly with Aerith, "what that guy said was uncalled for."

"He was right though," Barret stated, "it was all my fault…" He turned away from the group not wanting to face them.

"How did it happen Barret?" Tifa asked sympathetically as she placed her hand on Barret's shoulder, Barret turned round and faced the group.

"Corel was always a coal mining town," Barret started to explain his story, "it was so dusty, but also calm and poor…a real small town this one. That's the first time I've ever heard the words Mako Reactor mentioned since that time."

* * *

(Flashback)

_It was a peaceful day in the quaint town of Corel, people were going about their daily business. It was a closely knit community and everyone knew each other. That day there was a meeting in the Village Headman's house, numerous people were gathered there including Barret (he had no gun arm at this point) a blonde haired woman wearing a red dress flanked by bodyguards and a black haired man wearing green combat pants and a black shirt._

"_What are we going to do?" The Village Headman addressed the group, "the only person who's against this is Dyne," the Village Headman gestured to the black haired man._

"_I am definitely against it no matter what," Dyne voiced his opinion as he looked up from the sofa. "There's nothing to talk about if you're thinking of throwing away our coal!" Dyne banged his fist on the arm of the sofa as he said this, "Our coal's been protected for generations, our fathers and theirs before them have risked their lives for it and we have no right to throw it all away so easily!"_

"_But listen Dyne," Barret responded as he sat down on the sofa next to his friend and patted him on the shoulder, "no one uses coal anymore, it's a sign of the times."_

"_You're friend is right Dyne," the blonde haired woman agreed with Barret, "Everything is Mako now," she laughed heartedly, "it'll be alright Dyne, Shinra Inc will guarantee your livelihood once the Mako reactor is completed."_

"_Look Dyne," Barret spoke up again an air of sadness in his voice, "I don't want my wife Myrna to suffer anymore." Dyne made pleading gestures to the rest of the room but when no one took any notice he gave in._

"_I understand how you feel Barret," Dyne replied sympathetically although he was frustrated that his point of view wasn't being taken into account. "I feel the same way too damn it! But even so I won't give away our coal mines!" Dyne said adamantly, the Village Headman walked over to Dyne and placed his hand on the man's shoulder._

"_Dyne you've got to understand…" The Village Headman tried to say, but Dyne was having no more of it and he buried his head in his hands._

"That's how the Corel reactor was built and completed," Barret explained, "we all thought that it would bring us an easier life."

_About a week after the meeting the whole town of Corel was ablaze people were running round the town panicking as they searched in vain for their loved ones before they succumbed to the flames._

"It happed when Dyne and I were out of town for a few days," Barret continued with his explanation an air of sadness in his voice. "Corel was burned to the ground by Shinra troops, all the townspeople…all my relatives…everyone…everything…"

* * *

(End Flashback)

Everyone was staring at Barret in shock when he had finished his story. "Shinra troops…what for?" Cloud questioned as he balled his hands into fists as Barret turned away from the group.

"There was an explosion at the reactor," Barret answered, "Shinra blamed the accident on the townspeople, said it was done by a rebel faction."

"Damn Shinra!" Zack cursed outraged that the Shinra would wipe out an entire town over an exploding reactor. "They're willing to blame anyone but themselves, I guess when we wipe them from the face of planet the world would be a better place!"

"It's so terrible though," Aerith replied sadly, "those poor people…"

"I guess it's true though," Barret stated as he turned back to face the group again, "but more than Shinra, I couldn't forgive myself, never should've gone along with the building of the reactor."

"Don't blame yourself," Tifa replied sympathetically as she placed her hand on Barret's shoulder, "we were all fooled by the promises Shinra have made."

"Yeah," Zack agreed, "they were all talk and no action, I mean look at me…" Zack pointed at himself as he said this, "I'm a prime example of the Shinra's corruption."

"That's why…I get so pissed off!" Barret yelled as he waved his gun arm in the air, "not only did they take advantage of me…but I also lost my wife Myrna too…"

"Hey!" The ticket vendor suddenly spoke causing everyone to jump, "if you guys are gonna go to the Gold Saucer hurry and get on."

"The guy's right," Tifa stated as she quickly changed the subject, "we should get on the cable car." One by one the group boarded the cable car and they sat down just as the door closed and the cable car set off. It was a slow but smooth ride over the vast desert and there really wasn't much to see except for sand. After a while loud and jolly music and fireworks could be heard, the group looked out of the windows and stared in awe at a giant tree like structure completely covered with bright multi-coloured lights, fireworks were being launched from the tree and the music grew louder as the cable car zoomed into an entrance in the giant tree, after travelling through a dark tunnel the cable car came to a stop and the group stepped out of it. They found themselves in a large dome like structure and were staring at it in awe.

They started to walk to the entrance and an attendant walked up to them. "Welcome to the Gold Saucer!" She boomed happily as she smiled at the group, "are you all together?" She asked and Cloud nodded, "a single pass costs 3000gil, but if you like you can 30,000gil for a golden ticket which allows unlimited access to the Gold Saucer theme park."

Zack glared at the attendant, "3000gil for a day pass…THAT'S FUCKING DAYLIGHT ROBBERY!"

"That's ok," Cloud replied quickly as he gently shoved Zack back causing the drag human to glare at him, "3000gil is fine," he took his wallet out and handed the money to the attendant.

"Thank you very much," the attendant replied gratefully as she gave Cloud the tickets, "those passes will become invalid once you leave the park," she informed the group, "oh and here at the Gold Saucer there are places where you must pay using GP. Just think of GP as being like money that you can only use at the Gold Saucer, GP can be obtained in Wonder Square and in the Chocobo races, your GP limit is 1000 so be careful and please enjoy yourselves."

"Thanks," Cloud thanked the attendant and the group passed through the barrier and entered another dome structure which was larger than the previous room, this room was filled with numerous tunnels which led to other areas of the Gold Saucer.

"Wow!" Aerith squealed with excitement as she looked all around her, "let's have some fun!"

"Take it easy Aerith," Zack stated trying hard not to laugh at Aerith's over excitement. "Anyone would think that you've never been to a theme park before."

"Well I've never been out of Midgar before," Aerith replied as she stuck her tongue out at Zack. "There are no theme parks in Midgar," Aerith turned her attention to Barret who was leaning against a wall looking miserable, "I know this is bad time to do this," Aerith stated as she walked over to the miserable man, "come on Barret, cheer up."

Barret glared at Aerith and he stepped away from her, "I ain't in no cheery mood so jes' leave me alone!"

"She was only trying to help Barret," Zack explained to Barret, "there was no need to bite her head off."

"It's ok Zack," Aerith replied grateful that Zack would defend her, "I understand that Barret's feeling down," she walked over to Barret again, "it's too bad that you're not in a cheery mood," Aerith stated a little firmly, Barret continued to glare at Aerith but Aerith was having none of it. "We're gonna go and play," Aerith told Barret.

"So go ahead and PLAY!" Barret snapped as he glared at everyone in the group, "messin' around and shit! Don't forget…we're supposed to be after Sephiroth!" And without another word Barret took a running jump into the Wonder Square portal his friends were just stood there staring at each other.

"I think he's mad," Aerith stated, feeling bad for goading Barret.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine," Tifa reassured Aerith, "he's doing a lot better now." She looked at the portal wondering which one to go down first. "Why don't we split into pairs?" She suggested as she gave Cloud a hopeful look.

"Yeah, you're absolutely right, Tifa," Zack agreed as he began to stretch, "I haven't had a good stretch in a while…" Zack stated as one of his wings opened up and knocked Cloud.

"Whoa!" Cloud yelled as he was knocked forwards and he fell right into Tifa. Cloud looked up to see himself staring into Tifa's eyes. "Eh he…sorry about that Tifa…" Cloud apologised awkwardly.

"That's ok Cloud…"Tifa accepted Cloud's apology, she too was feeling a little awkward.

"Well would you look at that," Zack stated cheerfully his wing was now closed, "looks like we got our first pair right here."

"Zack…I really don't…" Cloud started to speak up but Zack interrupted him.

"You guys just go off and enjoy yourselves," Zack stated as innocently as he could.

Cloud and Tifa stared at Zack for a second before they jumped into the Wonder Square portal. Aerith walked over to Zack and the drag human wrapped his arm round her. "I guess we have our second pair too."

Yuffie looked down at Red, "Oh joy…" she muttered sarcastically, "I get left with the beast."

Red smiled at Yuffie, "you say that like it's a bad thing," Red replied as Yuffie scowled at him and without another word they jumped into the Speed Square portal, Zack and Aerith were left in the entrance alone and Aerith gave Zack a knowing look.

"What?" Zack asked as he saw the look that Aerith was giving him.

"You did that on purpose," Aerith replied playfully as she pointed an accusing finger at Zack.

"I didn't do anything," Zack answered trying to sound innocent, but Aerith saw through his lie. "Ok…" Zack admitted, "I was playing matchmaker, but surely there's no harm in helping fate along…eh Aerith…" Zack said slyly as he winked at Aerith.

"I don't know what you mean," Aerith replied in a dignified manner.

"I think Tifa's up on the deck," Zack mimicked Aerith's voice causing the Cetra to scowl at him, "maybe you should go up there and talk to her." Zack grinned as Aerith stuck her tongue out at him. "Very clever I must admit, and discreet too."

"Ok, ok…so I was playing the matchmaker," Aerith confessed, "Cloud and Tifa are meant to be together, I was just helping fate along." Zack continued to grin at Aerith, "and you were just as bad."

"Come on," Zack quickly changed the subject, "let's go have some fun while we can." Without another word Zack and Aerith jumped through the Chocobo Square portal and they entered the racing arena. Aerith bought herself and Zack some ice cold drinks before they walked over to the stands and watched the race. Aerith stared in awe as the race began and the Chocobos sped round the track, she had never seen Chocobos run that fast before and there was a deafening roar as people cheered on their favourite jockey. After watching several races Zack and Aerith left the Chocobo Square and they entered the Wonder Square portal. Aerith looked down at her drink and she was dismayed to discover that the ice had melted.

"My ice has melted," Aerith complained as they walked through the arcades, Zack stopped and he looked at Aerith. "It doesn't last very long does it?" Aerith asked as she continued to stare into her cup, Zack was about to respond but something was caught in his throat and he started having a coughing fit. "Zack are you ok?" Aerith asked her voice was filled with concern, Zack looked up at Aerith and he opened his mouth, a blue ball formed in his mouth seconds before a beam of ice shot out of his mouth and on to the floor.

Zack took a moment to catch his breath before he spoke again, "sorry about that…" Zack apologised to Aerith as he slowly staggered to his feet, Aerith was just stood there staring at Zack. "What?" Zack asked as he shrugged his shoulders at Aerith.

"You just breathed ice…" Aerith stammered hardly daring to believe what she just saw, "how did you do that?"

"I don't know," Zack answered as he looked down at the patch of ice on the floor. "The back of my throat feels cold though, I guess this means I've learned a new breath."

Aerith looked at Zack, then down at her drink, and then back at Zack again. "Hmmm…" Aerith mused as an evil grin crept on to her face, "Zack, do you think you can breathe a small amount of ice into my drink?" Aerith pleaded as she held the cup out to Zack.

"I don't know Aerith," Zack replied hesitantly as he stared at the cup Aerith was holding. "My throat still feels cold and…"

"You're gonna have to get used to it sooner or later," Aerith told Zack the truth, "and the sooner you get used to your new breath the better." Zack sighed, even though the back of his throat felt freezing cold he knew that he had to get used to it. He took hold of Aerith's cup, he took a deep breath and breathed a small amount of ice in it, he then passed it back to Aerith she took a sip out of the drink and she grinned at Zack.

"That's better," she stated as she continued to sip her drink, "thanks Zack," she replied gratefully.

"You're welcome," Zack responded, a young couple walked passed Zack and Aerith, unbeknownst to them the man had placed one foot on to the pool of ice on the floor.

"Whoa!" The man screamed as he tripped on the ice and slid along the floor, his girlfriend ran up to him.

"Are you ok?" The woman asked her boyfriend her voice was filled with concern as she helped him to his feet.

"Yeah…" the man answered as he finally managed to stand up and he glared down at the ice patch. "Some jackass has left a giant ice patch on the path!"

"I think now would be a good time to leave," Zack whispered to Aerith as the two of them snook off while the young couple were busy staring at the ice patch. Zack and Aerith jumped in the Battle Square portal and when they arrived they were shocked to see Cloud, Tifa and a strange looking black and white cat, wearing a red cape, boots and a crown riding on an oversized pink creature. Zack and Aerith walked up to the group and they were shocked to see that they were staring at a dead body.

"What happened here?" Aerith questioned as she stared at the body.

"That's what I want to find out," Cloud answered as he started to examine the body.

"What the hell did you do?" Zack demanded as he gave Cloud a questioning stare.

"I didn't do anything!" Cloud snapped at Zack as he continued to examine the body. "Hmmm…this just doesn't add up," Cloud stood up, he turned away from the group and he ran up the stairs to the Battle Arena.

"Cloud, where are you going?" Tifa called out to him but Cloud wasn't listening, "we better follow him," Tifa told the group as they ran up the steps, they found Cloud in the lobby kneeling next to another body. Zack and the others walked up to him.

"Don't tell me Sephiroth went on another killing spree?" Zack asked in an exasperated tone as he looked around and saw countless other bodies.

Cloud shook his head, "Sephiroth wasn't responsible for this," Cloud answered sadly.

"Come again…" Zack questioned as he stared at Cloud in shock.

"This guy was shot…" Cloud answered as he moved to the side to let Zack take a closer look at the body, "you know as well as I do that Sephiroth has never used a gun."

"So if it wasn't Sephiroth…" Aerith started to ask she too wanted to know the truth. "Then who would've…" Aerith didn't get chance to finish the rest of her sentence as she was interrupted.

"Ugh…uggghhhh…" a woman in a corner of the room cried out in pain, Cloud and the others ran up to her.

"What happened here?" Zack asked the woman as Aerith tended to her to wounds.

"A man…" the woman stuttered weakly as she looked up at the group through glazed eyes. "With a gun…on his arm…"

"A man with a gun arm…" Cloud, Tifa, Aerith and Zack said in perfect unison shocked at what they had heard.

"It can't be…can it?" Aerith questioned as she looked at her friends hoping that they could give her an answer.

Zack shook his head frantically, "there has to be another explanation," he stated still in shock, "Barret wouldn't do something like this, he wouldn't kill anyone for no reason…would he?"

"Of course he wouldn't!" Tifa snapped at Zack not wanting to believe that Zack would even say something like that. "This isn't like Barret at all, he would never kill or injure innocent people."

"We have to find Barret," Cloud said as he looked all around him for any sign of his friend, "maybe he can explain it to us."

"Hold it right there!" A voice boomed behind them, the group turned round to see strongly built man wearing a suit he was flanked by three guards. The man looked around him and he saw all the bodies he then looked back at the group. "Did you do this?" He demanded not taking his eyes off the group.

"N…no…" Cloud stammered as he stared nervously at the man, "we didn't do this…"

"This is all just a big misunderstanding," Zack added he too was nervous of this man. The guards pointed their guns at the group and Zack flexed his claws in retaliation.

"I'm not usually one to run away from a situation," the black and white cat suddenly spoke up shocking Zack and Aerith but now wasn't the time to ask questions. "But I think it's best that we run away!" The cat yelled at the top of his lungs as he turned tail and ran through a door at the back of the lobby, Cloud, Tifa, Zack and Aerith ran after the cat.

"Freeze!" The guards yelled as they continued to point their guns at the group, Zack stopped in his tracks but he didn't turn round. "Didn't you hear me? I said…"

"I know, I know…" Zack interrupted the man, "FREEZE!" Zack yelled at the top of his lungs as he fired two balls of ice from his hands and froze two of the guards. (**A/N, this is another Incredibles parody where Frozone freezes the police officers so he and Mr Incredible can make their escape.**)Zack turned tail and ran after his friends, the group entered the arena itself and they were surprised to see that there was no exit.

"Now what do we do?" Aerith asked as she cast hopeful looks at her friends, but no one had a chance to answer as the owner of the Gold Saucer emerged on a platform above the arena.

"That's as far as you go!" The Gold Saucer owner called down to them, he gestured with his hand as the black and white cat stepped forwards to check a door at the end of the arena but it was locked.

"Wait…you've got to listen…" Cloud tried to protest his and his friends' innocence but the owner of the Gold Saucer was hearing none of it, the black and white cat took a few steps back.

"Errr…Cloud…" He started to say as five huge robots jumped into the arena and slowly approached the group.

"Anyone got anymore bright ideas?" Zack asked as the robots continued to approach the group. As soon as the robots were close enough they reached out and grabbed each person. "Hey!" Zack yelled as he banged his fists on the robot's outer plating. "Let me go!" The group continued to struggle against their captors as they were dragged through the door at the back of the arena. They were taken to a smaller room with a large circular platform in the centre, the words "Gateway to Heaven" were carved round the platform, the robots were stood round it holding their struggling captives over the platform.

"Five more to go!" The Gold Saucer owner yelled as he continued to watch the group.

"Yes sir!" A guard called back to his employer as he ran over to a lever.

"Wait…" Cloud tried to explain again, "you've got it all wrong!"

"There's no need to listen!" The Gold Saucer owner snapped at the group not willing to hear them out, "you'll pay for your crimes down below!"

"This is all screwed up!" Zack yelled trying to get the owner of the Gold Saucer to listen to reason, "we didn't do anything wrong! We're innocent!"

The owner of the Gold Saucer turned his attention to the guard stood next to the lever, "do it!" He called over to the guard.

"Yes sir!" The guard called back again he pulled the lever and the platform opened up to reveal a large hole. The robots waited a few seconds before they dropped their captives down the hole.

"!" The group yelled at the top of their lungs as they fell down the hole. After falling for what seemed like an eternity the group eventually landed on solid ground and fell unconscious.

* * *

**Finally chapter 8 is complete, this has to be the longest chapter I've typed up so far. Seems like Zack and the others have gotten into serious trouble, will they be able to find a way out of it. Find out in chapter 9 which will be coming soon. Just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters and content, they belong to Square Enix. The Incredibles belong to Disney Pixar.**


	9. Chocobo Racing Chaos and Curse of the GI

**Chapter 9: Chocobo Racing Chaos and the Curse of the GI **

The group gradually started to come round after being thrown down the hole in the Gold Saucer. They were all about to stagger to their feet when they heard a loud noise from above them. "!" The sound of yelling could be heard as Yuffie and Red fell on top of the group.

"Ouch!" Yuffie cried out in pain as she slowly rubbed her aching back, she looked around her, "phew," she heaved a huge sigh of relief, "it's a good thing this pile broke our fall."

"As much as I'm enjoying this reunion…" Zack muttered painfully as he struggled to breathe with the sheer amount of weight on him. "You're all crushing me, so could you please get off my back?"

"Sorry Zack," the group apologised to the drag human in perfect unison as they clambered off him. Zack staggered slowly to his feet and tried to ease his stiff back. The group scanned their surroundings to try and find their bearings, they found themselves in some sort of compound completely surrounded by sand.

"Where are we?" Zack found himself asking as he took another look round trying to find an answer to his question.

"A desert prison," the black and white cat spoke up so suddenly that Zack leapt back in shock, he had forgotten that the cat was even there.

"Who are you?" Zack questioned eyeing the cat suspiciously.

"Oh yes," The cat replied staring inquisitively at Zack, "we haven't had a chance to introduce ourselves yet. Cait Sith, fortune telling extraordinaire at your service," Cait Sith answered as he bowed low, the giant Mog he was riding on also bowed.

Zack continued to stare at Cait Sith, "right…" he muttered sarcastically, "I guess the fortune cookie business has sunk to a new low."

"Just ignore him," Aerith apologised to Cait Sith as she elbowed Zack in the stomach, "he merely makes observations, humorously phrases them and delivers them with impeccable timing. I'm Aerith by the way, the guy you just spoke to is Zack, and there's Yuffie and Red XIII, but we just call him Red."

Cait Sith grinned at the group, "it's nice to meet you all," Cait Sith stated enthusiastically, "Tifa and Cloud said you were a nice bunch."

"What is this place?" Tifa asked as the whole group stared at Cait Sith.

"This is Corel Prison," Cait Sith answered as he began to explain the system, "it's a natural prison in the middle of the desert…surrounded entirely by quicksand. I've heard that once you get in you never get out, but there was one special exception…"

"There has to be a way out of here," Cloud stated as he searched for a way out, he looked over to his left and he saw Barret standing next to a gate looking miserable. "Barret…" Cloud called out the man's name as he started to walk towards him, the rest of the group saw Cloud walk up to Barret and they followed him.

"Barret!" Cloud called out his friend's name again as the group stopped behind him, Barret turned to face the group.

"Barret…those people…you didn't did you?" Tifa asked as she stared into Barret's eyes hoping that they would tell her the truth, she was half dreading the answer not wanting to believe that her friend would kill so many innocent people.

"Stay back, this is something I've gotta deal with!" Barret snapped at the group as he took a few steps back. "Jes' leave me alone!" Before anyone could do or say anything to stop Barret he ran off leaving his friends stood there looking confused.

"That was one of your friends?" Cait Sith questioned as he stared at the place that Barret was stood a few seconds before. "He sure looks dangerous…"

"As much as I hate to say this," Zack cut in as he glared at Cait Sith, "we have to do something, Barret's not acting like himself." The group started to walk in the direction that Barret ran off in, they saw another dead man and Zack bent down to examine the body. "Looks like another one's been shot," he stated sadly shaking his head.

The group continued to walk down the trail until they entered the main area of the compound. They searched the derelict buildings for any sign of Barret but they couldn't find him anywhere. They eventually entered a small house in the far Southern area of the compound, the group looked round and they were shocked to discover that it was the same house from Barret's story only it was rundown and covered in thick dust.

"Hey, isn't this the house that Barret described in his story?" Zack asked as he examined the dusty bookshelf. All the books were no longer there, "it looks so…well…like it's had better days."

"The fire…" Tifa reminded Zack as she stared at him finding it hard to believe that Zack would've forgotten about it.

"Oh yeah…" Zack replied as he wiped some dust off the shelf with his finger, "could do with cleaning though."

"Zack, the whole town was destroyed in a matter of seconds!" Cloud snapped at the drag human, "I don't think cleaning was on the agenda." The group continued to search the house until they heard a door slam behind them. The group turned round and they saw Barret stood in the doorway glaring at them.

"I thought I told ya not to come here!" He bellowed as he raised his gun arm and pointed it at the group.

"Just…hold on a second…" Cait Sith tried to console Barret. "We just want to talk that's all, you'll understand if you just hear us out!" Barret opened fire and the group raised their arms to protect their heads, however they weren't hurt and Barret continued to open fire as a man fell to the floor from behind the sofa. As soon as Barret stopped firing the group lowered their hands and Barret quickly turned away from them.

"I didn't want none of ya to get involved," Barret stated sadly refusing to look at his friends.

"Isn't that normally Cloud's line?" Aerith asked not taking her eyes off Barret, "it's too dangerous, I don't want you to get involved, blah, blah, blah…"

"Yeah," Zack agreed with Aerith as he walked in front of Barret, "we're already involved in this. We're worried about you Barret, you've not been acting yourself, so why don't you just tell us all what's going on?"

Barret sighed, "You guys…" he started to say but he was interrupted.

"I heard those murders in the Battle Arena were done by a man with a gun arm," Red cut in as he stared intently at Barret, "was that you?"

Barret quickly shook his head as he turned round to face the group, "there's another…another man that got a gun grafted into his arm…" Barret explained, "That was four years ago, I remember I was on my way home from visiting a reactor that had been built…"

(Flashback)

_Barret and Dyne were running along the train tracks which linked the Mako reactor to Corel, they were returning home after visiting the reactor which was being built. They were about halfway there until the Village Headman ran up to them. "Barret, Dyne!" The Village Headman shouted urgently, "come quick! The village is under attack! It's Shinra Soldiers!"_

"_What?" Barret yelled as he and Dyne leapt off the train track and on to the cliff edge. They saw that their village was up in flames, Barret rose his arms and trembled. "What the hell happened?" Barret cursed loudly as he fell to his knees and punched the ground._

"_Hey Barret, it isn't over yet," Dyne reassured Barret as he placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Everyone's waiting, let's go back to the village!"_

_Four Shinra soldiers ran on to the train tracks and they aimed their guns at the Village Headman, "Barret Dyne! Protect the village!" The Village Headman yelled his last request as he was gunned down by the soldiers._

"_Humph! Old Man!" Barret shouted as the soldiers opened fire at Barret and Dyne. Dyne leapt under the tracks as Barret danced to avoid the bullets._

"_Come on Barret!" Dyne called out to his friend as he ran out of his hiding place, "We gotta hurry!"_

"_Arrrrrraaaaggghhh!" Barret yelled as he followed Dyne to the edge of the cliff. The woman wearing the red dress appeared on the scene while the soldiers were still firing._

"_Kya ha ha!" She laughed loudly as she walked up to the soldiers, "You can shoot all day and still not hit them with an aim like that! She openly mocked the soldiers._

"_Shut up!" Barret yelled at the woman. _

_The woman knocked one of the soldiers off the tracks, the other soldiers stopped firing and they turned to face her. "Well don't just stand there!" The woman demanded as she picked up the gun that the soldier dropped. "Cover me!" The soldiers surrounded the woman as she opened fire at Barret and Dyne._

"_Watch out!" Dyne warned Barret as he was hit by a bullet and fell off the cliff but Barret caught him just in time to save him from falling._

"_Dyne hang on!" Barret called down to his friend as he tried to pull him up, "Listen to me! You're coming back to the village, hear!"_

_Dyne nodded, "yeah!" Dyne yelled back to Barret, "I ain't letting go!"_

"_You're coming back to the village," Barret continued to reassure Dyne, "everyone's waiting for ya…Marlene…Eleanor, they're all waiting for us."_

_The woman and the guards continued to open fire and their sweeping gunshots hit both Dyne and Barret in the hand. Barret winced in pain upon impact and he released Dyne causing his friend to fall into the deep chasm below._

(End Flashback)

"From then on I couldn't use my right arm anymore," Barret explained as he looked down sadly at his gun arm. "I was depressed for a while…" He then looked up again, "but then I threw away my artificial arm and got this gun grafted in," Barret started to stroke his gun arm, "I got a new right arm to get revenge on the Shinra, for taking everything away…"

"But what happened to Dyne?" Zack asked as he stared at Barret, "did he survive his fall?"

"Back then the doc told me that there was another man who had the same operation as me," Barret answered, "only his was the left arm."

"But wasn't Dyne's injury the same as yours?" Aerith questioned.

"Yeah," Tifa agreed, "Dyne was deceived by the Shinra too, he'll probably join us in the fight against the Shinra."

Barret shook his head, "wouldn't bet on it," he stated pessimistically, "I gotta apologise to Dyne before I can rest in peace, which is why I've gotta go alone." Everyone stared at Barret in shock when they heard him say this.

"Rest in peace…" Zack repeated what Barret said, "that's a little dark isn't it?"

"We can't let you do it Barret!" Cloud voiced his concern as he walked up to Barret, "if you die on me I'm gonna have nightmares, just let us help you Barret."

"Yeah," Zack agreed with Cloud, "we've got your back, besides, we got blamed for a crime we didn't commit. We need to find the real culprit."

Barret glared at the group, "weren't you listening to me?" Barret snapped at the group, "I'm going alone and that's that!" Before anyone could say anything to convince Barret otherwise he stormed out of the house and slammed the door behind him.

Cloud sighed as he shook his head, "he's gonna get himself killed," Cloud stated sadly, "we should've just followed him."

"But we all know how stubborn he is," Tifa added as she patted Cloud on the shoulder, "if he finds out that we're following him he's gonna be pissed."

"If only there was some way for us to follow him without him knowing that we were there," Red tried to think of a solution and everyone stared at Zack.

Zack looked at everyone and sighed, "Do I have to do everything?" He asked in an exasperated tone.

"Please Zack," Aerith pleaded with the drag human, "you have to keep an eye on Barret."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Zack yelled as he backed away from the group, "so you guys only wanted me to travel you with you because I'm seen as a convenience? Didn't anyone want me to travel with them simply because they enjoy my company?" Zack demanded as he continued to stare at the group, only Aerith raised her hand. "That's what I thought," Zack said with a sigh as he turned to glare at Tifa, "you use me as an oven every morning!" He turned his attention to Aerith, "you used me as an ice dispenser," he then rounded on Yuffie, "you shoved me into a crate, and now all of you want me to baby sit Barret!"

"Please Zack," Aerith pleaded with Zack again as she took hold of her hand, "all we're asking is that you keep an eye on him and with your invisibility he won't even know that you're there."

Zack sighed again as he looked into Aerith's green eyes, eyes that he could never resist, "alright…fine…" he gave in, Aerith smiled at him but Zack merely brushed it off as he focused his energy to make himself invisible and he left the house to search for Barret.

Zack followed Barret out of the safety of the compound and into the harsh desert and the man with gun arm had no idea that he was being followed. Zack continued to follow Barret into a junk heap, Barret was half way through the debris when he heard a crashing sound.

Barret quickly turned round to see that one of the piles of debris had collapsed, "I know you're there Zack!" Barret yelled not taking his eyes off the fallen pile, "come out!" Barret tapped his foot impatiently as Zack became visible again. "Why are you following me?" Barret demanded glaring at the drag human.

"Making sure you don't do anything stupid," Zack answered as he walked over to Barret and jabbed his finger into the man's chest.

"I told ya already!" Barret snapped at the dark haired man, "This is something I gotta deal with on my own!"

"And you're doing a fine job of that so far…" Zack retorted sarcastically, "going off on your own wandering aimlessly through the desert…you probably don't even know where Dyne is."

"I know what I'm doing ok!" Barret snapped at Zack, "so just leave me alone!"

"Well I'm here now!" Zack argued back trying to reason with Barret, "There's no point in me going back now. So it looks like we're both in this together from here."

Barret sighed, he knew that Zack had a point, he was there now and maybe he could have done with the help. "Fine…" Barret gave in, "you can come but I've gotta deal with Dyne myself, ya hear?"

Zack nodded, "yeah I hear ya," Zack agreed, he knew that Barret wanted to deal with things in his way and Zack respected that.

Barret gave Zack a satisfying smile, "good," he stated as he turned round, "come on, he's close, I can feel it." Barret continued to walk through the pile of debris and Zack followed behind him. They could hear the sound of gunshots, and when they came round the corner they saw the remains of another house over looking a cliff edge. Two crosses, one large and one small were crudely placed in the ground as if they were marking graves. Stood at the edge of the cliff was a man with black hair wearing a black shirt and green pants. He was pointing his gun arm and firing in random directions.

"Dyne…" Barret spoke up, hardly daring to believe that his friend was still alive. "Is that you?" He asked as Dyne looked up and turned to face Barret.

"Now there's a voice I haven't heard in years," Dyne spoke in a quiet voice, as he limped towards Barret. "A voice I'll never forget…"

"I always hoped I'd be able to see you again someday…" Barret stated hardly able to contain his joy as he walked towards his old friend. "I knew you were alive somewhere…we had the same operation, listen to me Dyne, I want to…" Barret was about to say that he wanted to make amends with Dyne but Dyne pointed his gun arm at Barret and fired at him causing Barret to stop.

"What's that…" Dyne said in a dream like voice, "I hear her voice…" Barret and Zack stood there just staring at Dyne hardly daring to speak. "I hear her voice," Dyne continued not taking his eyes or his gun arm off Barret, "Eleanor's voice…begging me not to hate your rotten guts…that's why I didn't hunt you down…" Dyne ended his speech with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"I know I was stupid," Barret spoke up again admitting the mistake he made four years ago. "I'm not asking you to forgive me, but…what are you doing in a place like this?" Barret asked Dyne, "Why would ya want to kill people that ain't even involved? Why?"

Dyne glared at Barret and the latter flinched as he thought the former was going to shoot at him again, but Dyne merely lifted up his good arm. "Why the hell do you care?" Dyne snapped as he pointed at Barret, "are the people who were killed going to understand why? Are the people of Corel going to understand just hearing Shinra's excuses?" Dyne lifted up his gun arm, "I don't CARE what the reason is!" Dyne lowered his gun arm again, "you still want to hear why?" Dyne asked Barret, as the latter continued to stare at the former. "Alright, I'll tell ya," Dyne said as he limped away from Barret. "Cos I wanted to destroy everything," Dyne pointed his gun arm to the left and shot in that direction. "The people of this city," Dyne limped back towards Barret and he shot to the right. "The city itself," Dyne shot at Barret three times causing the man to flinch each time. "The whole damn world!" Dyne turned his back on Barret not even wanting to look at his former friend, "I got nothing left in this world," he continued with a hint of sadness in his voice, "Corel…Eleanor…Marlene…"

"Dyne…" Barret spoke for the first time in a while, "Marlene is…she's alive…" Dyne looked over his shoulder at Barret hardly daring to believe what he was hearing. "I went back into town," Barret explained himself, "I thought she was gone for sure, that's why I wanted to be by her side till the end. That's when I found her…found Marlene…" Dyne continued to stare at Barret, too shocked to speak. "She's in Midgar," Barret told Dyne of Marlene's location, "let's go see her together alright."

"So…she's still alive…" Dyne spoke up again not sure whether to believe Barret or not. "Alright Barret, I guess this means we gotta fight." Both Barret and Zack, (who remind silent throughout the whole thing.) stared at Dyne in shock.

"What?" Barret questioned not sure of what to think of this new twist of events.

Dyne turned round to face Barret again, "Eleanor's alone by herself…" Dyne stated sadly, "I've got to take Marlene to her…"

"Are you insane?" Barret questioned again hardly daring to believe what he was hearing.

"Marlene wants to see her mum, doesn't she?" Dyne asked completely ignoring Barret's question as he started firing at Barret again. Barret tried to block the bullets.

"Stop Dyne!" Barret yelled as he continued to block the bullets using his gun arm as a shield, "I can't die yet!"

"Oh yeah!" Dyne retorted as he continued to fire at Barret, "well my life's been over since then!"

"Stop it!" Barret shouted again trying to get Dyne to listen to reason, "I don't want to fight you!"

"Just leave it Barret!" Zack warned his friend, it had been a while since he last spoke and he feared that if he didn't speak soon that his voice would fade out of existence. "He's clearly lost it! You don't have to do this!"

"Stay out of this Zack!" Barret snapped at the drag human not taking his eyes off Dyne. "This is MY problem!" Zack could do nothing but watch as the two men began to pace round in a circle pointing their gun arms at each other. Dyne loaded his gun arm and started to fire away at Barret, Barret dived to the side to dodge the bullets and he fired his own bullets at Dyne. For what seemed like an eternity the two men fired and dodged the spray of bullets which were flying all over the place, one of the bullets narrowly missing Zack. After a while Barret started to scan Dyne for any potential weaknesses and he saw that Dyne was still limping. Not wasting anytime Barret aimed his gun arm at Dyne's injured leg and opened fire.

"!" Dyne yelled in pain as he fell to his knees and lowered his gun arm, Barret also lowered his gun arm and ran towards Dyne to make sure he was alright. "Back!" Dyne yelled as he staggered to his feet and limped towards the cliff edge. He leaned against a piece of broken metal to support his weight. "It wasn't just my arm…back then…" Dyne said quietly all of the anger and revenge within him was dying out. "I lost something irreplaceable…I don't know where I went wrong…"

"Dyne…I don't know either man…" Barret replied sympathetically as he continued to walk towards Dyne. "Is this the only way we can resolve this?" He asked as he pointed at both his and Dyne's gun arms.

"I told you…" Dyne answered reminding Barret of what he said before, "I wanted to destroy everything…Everything…this crazy world…even me…"

"Proof that he's completely lost it…" Zack muttered under his breath, fortunately neither Barret nor Dyne heard him.

"An' what about Marlene? Barret asked as he thought about his daughter and how much he missed her. "What's gonna happen to her?"

"Think about it Barret…" Dyne answered as he stared sadly at his former friend, "how old was Marlene back then? Even if I went to her now she wouldn't even know me…and what's more Barret…" Dyne looked down at his hands. "These hands are a little too stained to carry Marlene anymore…" He stated sadly, Barret looked down as he heard Dyne's words. "Barret…" Dyne called out the man's name, Barret looked up as Dyne tossed something to him. "Give that pendant to Marlene," Dyne requested as Barret looked at the pendant he was holding in his hand. "It was Eleanor's…my wife's memento…"

"Alright," Barret said as he accepted his former friend's request.

"Wow…Marlene's…already four…" Dyne stated absent mindedly as he limped over to the cliff edge. "Barret…don't make…don't you ever make Marlene cry…" Dyne made Barret promise as a single tear escaped from his eye.

"Dyne…" Barret called out Dyne's name as he ran towards him, Dyne took one last look at Barret before he spread his arms out and fell backwards off the cliff edge. "DYNE!" Barret yelled at the top of his lungs as he fell to his knees. "Dyne…" Barret muttered sadly at his former friend's death, "me an' you…were the same…my hands aren't any cleaner…I shouldn't be able to carry Marlene either…Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Barret yelled his anguish to the heavens as he raised his arms up in the air and mourned Dyne's death.

"Are you ok?" Zack asked as he walked up to Barret and placed his hand on his shoulder.

Barret looked up and smiled, "yeah…I'm ok…" Barret answered quietly, "I'm just glad that me and Dyne could part on good terms."

"It's ok to cry you know," Zack stated as Barret nodded.

"I know," Barret agreed, "but we've got more important things to take care of, like proving our innocence," Zack held his hand out and helped Barret to his feet. "We should get back to the others." Barret stated as he and Zack ran back through the junkyard and back to the compound. By the time they got back the others had left the house and were waiting outside a large broken down truck.

"Barret…" Cloud spoke up as Barret and Zack walked up to the group, "you're alive…"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Barret asked.

"No reason," Cloud answered.

"Anyway," Cait Sith cut in quickly changing the subject, "the only way for us to get out of here is to get permission from the boss. All we have to do is go in here and talk to Mr Coates, he'll help us out."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to try," Cloud said as he opened the door and held it open. "Let's go," one by one they all entered the truck, "thanks Zack," Cloud whispered in the drag human's ear as he walked passed. As soon as the group entered the truck Mr Coates approached them.

"Do you want something?" He asked as he surveyed the group.

"I want to go up!" Barret demanded as he walked towards Mr Coates.

"I'm afraid I can't allow that," Mr Coates replied shaking his head, "you've got to get permission from the boss and then win the Chocobo…"

"Dyne's got his reasons and can't speak," Barret interrupted Mr Coates, "so I got this instead," he stated as he held out the pendant and showed it to Mr Coates.

"Yeah…bull…" Mr Coates started to say but he was interrupted again.

"I want to go up!" Barret demanded again.

"R…right…" Mr Coates stammered as he shook his head again, "Did you kill Dyne? You must've or you'd never be holding that thing, so Dyne's dead…maybe the place will calm down a little, Dyne didn't care who anyone was…"

Barret walked up to Mr Coates and grabbed him by the throat, "the hell do YOU know!" He demanded as he lifted Mr Coates into the air.

"R…r…right…" Mr Coates stuttered nervously as he stared into Barret's eyes, "I mean…no, I don't know anything…" Barret released his hold on Mr Coates, Mr Coates staggered backwards and brushed his green suit.

"Look, we're innocent," Zack began to explain the situation to Mr Coates, Mr Coates stared at Zack for a second but he didn't say anything for fear of being grabbed again. "We shouldn't be here, you have to help us get up there so we can prove our innocence."

"Oh man, you've got to be kidding," Mr Coates answered causing the whole group to glare at him. "There's only one way out of here, you have to win the Chocobo races and that's held all the way up there in the Gold Saucer, and only one racer can go up at a time."

Barret grabbed Mr Coates by the throat again, "say what…" he questioned as he shook Mr Coates.

"No really…" Mr Coates answered again staring at Barret nervously, "even if you threaten me a rule's a rule. I can't change it, if I do the whole system down here would get all messed up…an' I can't do that…" Barret shook him again, "ok, ok!" Mr Coates shouted as he gave in, "I'll let one of you go up there, but after that, they have to deal with Dio."

Barret released Mr Coates, "alright then," he stated happy to come to an agreement, he walked back over to the group and they were deep in discussion. "So who's gonna go up there?" Barret asked.

"Don't look at me!" Yuffie yelled quickly as she took a step backwards, "I don't think I could handle it…"

"Awww is little baby Yuffie afraid of a Chocobo…" Zack asked in a mocking tone causing the ninja to glare at him.

"Well I can't go up there for obvious reasons," Red stated as he looked down at himself.

"I'll go," Zack volunteered but Cloud shook his head.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Cloud replied as he placed his hand on Zack's shoulder. "People would freak out if they saw you racing."

"Oh thanks very much," Zack said in an offended tone.

"Cloud you go," Barret decided, "we'll wait down here, hurry up and win that Chocobo race and get us out of here."

"Yeah, you can do it Cloud," Tifa stated encouragingly as she kissed Cloud quickly on the cheek before backing away and smiling awkwardly.

"Have you all decided?" Mr Coates asked as the group nodded and Cloud stepped forwards. "Now all you need is a manager…and to register and get a Chocobo…"

"Hi, I happened to hear your story," a voice suddenly spoke up as a young woman with shoulder length ginger hair, wearing a long pink dress, a pink hat with a feather sticking out, red high heeled shoes and wearing lots of make up entered the room.

"Ester?" Mr Coates asked as the young woman approached the group.

"I'll be your manager," Ester offered her services as she smiled at the group.

"Well I have nothing against it," Mr Coates stated as he gave his permission, "this is Ester," he pointed towards the woman, "I know she looks kind of funny…" Mr Coates whispered to the group.

"Really…" Zack muttered sarcastically under his breath, "We haven't noticed…"

The rest of the group scowled at Zack but Mr Coates chose to ignore it, "but there's no better manager in the races," Mr Coates continued as he smiled at Ester, unfortunately for him Ester heard his previous comment.

"That's so rude!" Ester admonished as she pointed waved her index finger at Mr Coates before she turned to face the group. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you all, but especially you Cloud," she said the last part flirtatiously as she winked at Cloud causing Tifa to scowl at Ester and grit her teeth.

"Errr…thanks…" Cloud stated nervously as he detected how flirtatious Ester was towards. Fortunately he didn't see the murderous look in Tifa's eyes.

"Alright then Cloud," Mr Coates cut in much to Cloud's relief, "I'll send you into the elevator," he pointed to the elevator behind him, "and Ester will fill you in on the details."

"Ok," Cloud replied as he and Ester entered the elevator, "see you later guys," Cloud said before the elevator door closed and the elevator went up.

"Seems like you've got a rival for Cloud's affections," Zack whispered in Tifa's ear, Tifa turned round and scowled at Zack.

"Get out of it!" Tifa snapped as she shoved Zack away.

"It's true," Zack told Tifa the truth, "he seems to be popular with the ladies," Zack whispered in Tifa's ear again as he gave Tifa a knowing look. "You better make your move and fast before he's taken."

"And you need to shut your big mouth or I'll shut it for you!" Tifa retorted as she shook her fist threateningly at Zack.

"Ok, ok…" the drag human gave in as he eyed Tifa's fist nervously, "but you should at least think about what I said."

"I guess all we can do now is wait," Red stated as he sat down patiently, Zack stared at the beast.

"You guys can stay here like saps and wait for even the slightest chance that Cloud will win," Zack replied impatiently as he paced round the room, "but I'm gonna take matters into my own hands."

"What are you going to do?" Aerith asked as Zack grinned at her.

"You'll see…" Zack answered vaguely as he turned invisible and crept passed Mr Coates. Zack looked up the elevator shaft and he saw that the elevator hadn't come down yet. Zack's claws sprang out of the slits in his gloves and he began to climb up the elevator shaft. After fifteen long and agonising minutes Zack's head hit something solid. "Ouch!" He cried out in pain as he looked up and saw the bottom of the elevator. He released one of his hands from the wall and he began to cut a hole in the bottom of the elevator with his claws. Zack let the piece of metal fall away as he climbed up through the hole he had made, Zack looked down at the hole and walked out of the elevator trying to look innocent, fortunately he was still invisible and when he entered the jockey lounge he found that the room was completely empty except for Cloud pacing round looking nervous. Zack crept up to Cloud being careful not to get too close to his friend.

"Cloud!" Ester called out to the spiky haired man as she entered the lounge and approached Cloud. "Thanks for waiting, I registered you in the next race. This is a Chocobo I prepared myself, it won't lose easily." Ester smiled at Cloud, "Good luck Cloud," she wished him luck as Cloud followed by an invisible Zack walked out of the lounge and to the Chocobo stables. Cloud and Zack (still invisible) walked down the row of stables until they came to the one at the end. A yellow Chocobo was busy eating but as soon as it saw Cloud coming it walked over to the door and looked out.

Cloud looked at the name plate at the side, "so this Chocobo is called Dandelion…" Cloud read the name plate as he stroked the Chocobo's head. The attendant opened the stable door and led the Chocobo out of it. Cloud climbed on to the bird's back and he rode it out to the Chocobo racing stadium, Zack followed him still invisible. They were met by the roar and applauding of the audience as a commentator's balloon flew over the stadium.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" A voice boomed on loud speakers all over the stadium, "and welcome to the great Chocobo Races, and it looks like we have a new comer in this race folks!"

"That's right!" A second commentator spoke into the mike, "fresh from Corel Prison he's served his time now he's planning to win the race to set himself and his friends free! Of course he'll have a tough time against our veteran jockeys!"

Cloud looked around him and he saw a man wearing a black jockey outfit and a hat, he was sitting on a black Chocobo. "Aaaahhhh…so you thought you'd try your luck in the races…"

"That's right," Cloud answered, "and I'm gonna win, Joe."

Joe laughed, "Well good luck Cloud," Joe wished Cloud luck, "you'll need it, oh and just so you know me and Teioh here," he patted the Chocobo as he spoke. "Have never lost a race."

"Really…there's a first time for everything," Zack suddenly spoke up as he turned visible again. The jockeys, audience and commentators gasped when they saw him.

"What the hell is that?" One of the commentators yelled down the microphone as everyone in the stadium stared at Zack in shock.

"I don't know Jason!" The second man answered as he looked through his binoculars trying to get a closer look at Zack, "it looks human but I can't really tell from here!"

"…IT!" Zack yelled as he glared up at the commentator's balloon. "I AM NOT AN IT!"

"Well this is an interesting turn of events," Joe stated as he smiled smugly at Zack. "Thinking of trying your luck against us, mutant?" Joe asked as he stared at Zack and suppressed a laugh.

"If it means I get to wipe that smug grin off your face, then yeah…" Zack answered back as he looked Joe directly in the eyes.

"Zack…what the hell do you think you're playing at…" Cloud hissed in Zack's ear.

Zack turned to face Cloud, "putting the odds in our favour," Zack replied as he grinned at Cloud.

"You're gonna race…" Cloud questioned as he continued to stare at Zack in shock.

"Why not?" Zack asked with a shrug.

"You're insane!" Cloud yelled at Zack.

Zack turned away from Cloud and looked at the track ahead of him, "if I wasn't this would probably never work," Zack stated calmly causing Cloud to stammer. (**A/N, this is a parody of Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End.**) "Relax, I know what I'm doing."

"I hope so," Cloud muttered under his breath. All the jockeys including Joe started to laugh, Zack turned and he snarled at the jockeys making the Chocobos feel uneasy. A gunshot sounded and Zack sped across the starting line, the other jockeys stared at Zack shocked that he was able to move that fast, but they soon snapped out of their shock and ran after him.

"And they're off!" Jason started the commentating as the Chocobos and Zack sped round the track. "And it looks like the mutant has an edge over the other jockeys, but wait Joe's soon catching up to him and…what the hell…did you see that Andy?" Jason asked his partner.

"It appears that the mutant is showboating…" Andy answered, Zack was running backwards up the slope giving all the jockeys the finger. "He'd better watch out because Joe's catching up!"

Joe was a few inches behind Zack, "I must admit you're fast!" Joe complimented Zack, "but you're running a fool's errand, you can't possibly expect to win without a Chocobo!"

"Well in case you haven't noticed!" Zack retorted still running backwards as he, Joe, Cloud and the other jockeys sped up the slope. "I'm running rings around you!" Zack yelled with a laugh as he turned to face the right way round again as he turned a corner. "Ha ha!" Zack laughed as he felt the wind rushing passed his face. "Eat my dust!" Joe pulled hard on the reins to get Teioh to run faster so he could keep up with Zack. Cloud had also sped up and he was now neck and neck with Joe, it wasn't long before both Cloud and Joe caught up to Zack.

Zack looked from left to right and he saw Cloud and Joe closing in on him, Teioh tried to get passed Zack. "Heh…" Zack chuckled slightly as he held his palm out and it ignited in flames. Teioh's eyes grew wide in shock when it saw the flames and with a frightened yelp it fell back and Joe struggled to get it to move forwards. Cloud saw an opportunity to run ahead of Zack, but Zack leapt onto to the Chocobo behind Cloud as it ran passed.

"Huh…" Cloud said as he looked behind him and saw that Zack wasn't there. "Where did he go?" He felt a tap on his shoulder he turned round to see the drag human sat behind him. "Aaaaahhhh!" Cloud yelled shocked that Zack was there behind him.

"Yeah, I get that a lot…" Zack sighed in an exasperated tone.

"What are you doing?" Cloud asked Zack again, they both looked behind them and saw that Joe was catching up to them.

"Look, Joe's catching up to us, I got an idea but we both have to work together," Zack proposed as the Chocobo continued to race ahead, it started to slow down due to the extra weight. "Either way, we'll all go free, so why don't we both win?"

"Err Zack…there's a problem…" Cloud stated, "The Chocobo is slowing down, there's too much weight on it and Joe is getting closer!" The two men looked back again and they saw that Joe was a few inches behind them.

Zack turned back to face Cloud and he grinned, "I think I have an idea," Zack spoke up as he lifted his ass into the air and raised his tail.

"Zack…what are you planning?" Cloud asked as he stared at Zack in shock.

"Just focus on racing!" Zack yelled at Cloud as the blond haired man turned back round and continued to guide the Chocobo with the reigns. "I'll deal with the rest…" Zack breathed in deeply as an orange sphere formed in his mouth he quickly swallowed it and waited a few seconds and a large jet of flames shot out of his ass propelling the Chocobo forwards. Joe had to swerve out of the way as the flames narrowly missed him.

"!" Cloud yelled at the top of his lungs, he held on to the reigns for dear life as the Chocobo continued to speed forwards.

"!" Zack shouted excitedly, he quickly struck a pose as he spotted a camera near the finishing line. The camera flashed as the Chocobo sped across the finishing line and skidded to a stop.

"I don't believe it!" Andy yelled down the microphone over the roar of the crowed. "The newcomers have won the race! Let's see an action replay of that finish!" A large screen showed a slow motion replay of Cloud and Zack's victory, a still image of Cloud screaming and holding on tightly to the reigns and Zack sticking three of his limbs into the air, balancing one hand on the Chocobo's back. He was pulling a silly face using his other hand.

"This day will be marked as the greatest day in Chocobo racing history!" Jason remarked as the crowd's cheer grew louder, the other jockeys crossed the line and Joe walked up to them.

"I guess I was wrong about you both," Joe complimented them, "you do have what it takes to compete."

"Thanks," Cloud replied gratefully as he smiled and nodded, "coming from you that means a lot."

"Gracefully accepting defeat…" Zack replied as he and Cloud leapt off the Chocobo, "very noble of you…"

Joe merely brushed Zack's comment off, "maybe we'll compete again," Joe said as he leapt off his Chocobo and led it to the stables. Attendants came and led Dandelion to the stables as Cloud and Zack made their way to the jockey lounge area where Ester was waiting for them. When she saw Cloud and Zack coming she ran up and hugged Cloud.

"Congratulations!" She yelled enthusiastically, "you both raced great, now you're home free!" Ester quickly released Cloud as Zack smirked, "oh by the way, Dio wanted me to give you this," Ester added as she gave Cloud a letter.

"To the dynamic duo…" Zack started to read the letter out loud, "Awww…" he added as he grinned at Cloud, "how thoughtful…"

"Keep reading…" Cloud prompted Zack and the drag human continued to read the letter out loud.

"If you're reading this letter then you've obviously won and won a victory you've surely earned. (Not to mention it made me laugh, especially the photo of your victory.) I heard about Dyne from Ester, now that you're victorious I promise that you and your friends will receive a full pardon and you'll all be set free."

"About time…" Zack muttered, but Cloud glared at him so he kept reading.

"Also by way of apology I prepared a little gift for you to use on your journey," Cloud and Zack grinned at each other as they saw the word gift in the letter. "Sorry I couldn't be there to tell you this in person, but I'm a very busy man, yours sincerely, Dio."

"A gift…" Cloud asked as he read the letter again.

"I wonder what it is…" Zack mused.

"Well he said it's to use on our journey," Cloud replied, "so maybe it's a…" Cloud didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as he heard a remix of the Chocobo theme tune go off. It took him a second to realise that it was his mobile. "I better get this," he said as he took his mobile out of his pocket and pushed the button to put it on loudspeaker. "Hello…" He spoke into the phone.

"Cloud it's me Tifa," Tifa's voice could be heard through the loudspeaker.

"Hi Tifa," Cloud replied.

"You did it Cloud!" Tifa exclaimed down the phone, "you and Zack did it, Dio's men came and released us, the assistant manager said that he left a buggy outside North Corel for us, isn't it great?"

"A buggy!" Zack exclaimed hardly able to contain his excitement.

"I put the phone on loudspeaker," Cloud explained before Tifa had a chance to say anything.

"Oh…" Tifa replied, "Well, we're all stood at the cable car station, we'll meet you there ok." Tifa hung up on the phone and Cloud and Zack grinned at each other.

"Hey look," Zack stated as he turned the letter round and looked at the back, "the letter continues."

"What does it say?" Cloud asked as Zack read the last part of the letter.

"P.S. I just recently met Sephiroth, he must have a lot of fans with boys your age. Why don't you get his autograph? It seems he headed south of the river, towards Gongaga."

"Gongaga…" Zack muttered under his breath.

"What's wrong?" Cloud asked Zack out of concern.

"N…nothing…" Zack stammered as he put the letter in his pocket, "at least we know where Sephiroth is now."

"Yeah," Cloud agreed.

"I guess this is goodbye," Ester cut in as she hugged Cloud again, "if you do ever get your own Chocobo come back and see me, I'll take care of your registration and everything." She released Cloud and she turned to look at Zack, "and the same goes for you…Zack." Ester kindly offered as she hugged the drag human.

"Thanks for everything Ester," both men said in perfect unison as they left the Chocobo Square and met their friends at the cable car station. The group got on to the cable car back to North Corel, the townspeople gave Barret evil glares as the group left the town. As soon as they reached the town's border they saw a large 18 wheeled buggy waiting for them.

"Sweet!" Zack and Cloud yelled at the same time as they both ran towards the buggy, their friends walked slowly behind them. Cloud opened the buggy with the key and climbed into the driver's seat but Zack dragged him out of it.

"Why are you getting in the driver's seat?" Zack demanded as he glared at Cloud.

"Because I'm the leader, that's why," Cloud answered.

"That doesn't mean anything," Zack retorted, "besides we wouldn't even have the buggy if it wasn't for me."

"You got cocky out there Zack!" Cloud snapped at the drag human.

"You're point is?" Zack argued back, "I helped to win the race so I get as much right to drive the buggy as you do!"

"But I have the keys," Cloud stated as he waved the keys in front of Zack's face to wind him up. They both continued to argue over who got to drive the buggy, as their friends watched with amusement. It was only when Tifa whistled loudly that the two men stopped.

"Why don't you take it in turns?" Tifa suggested as she walked over to Cloud and Zack. "Cloud can drive for a little while, then Zack can go next."

Zack and Cloud looked at each other and nodded, "sounds fair," they both agreed as everyone except Cait Sith got into the buggy. Cait Sith stood a short distance away from the group and talked into a mobile phone he managed to hide what he was saying to the group.

"Hey Cait Sith!" Zack called out to the cat through his open window, "are you coming or not?"

"Of course laddie!" Cait Sith answered as he walked over to the buggy and climbed in. "I just needed to take care of a few things."

Ah ha…" Zack replied he gave Cait Sith a sceptical stare. _"Why was Cait Sith talking on a phone?" _He thought to himself, but he didn't have time to think about it any further as Cloud had put the key in the ignition and the buggy roared to life. The buggy drove away from North Corel and the Gold Saucer a splashing sound could be heard as the buggy traversed across a river, water gushed up and hit the sides of the buggy. When the buggy reached the other side the group saw that the scenery had changed and that they were surrounded by trees as far as the eye could see. The buggy came to a stop at a footpath leading further into the forest.

"I guess we'll have to continue on foot from here," Cloud stated as he got out of the buggy.

"Do we have to?" Yuffie complained, "I was just starting to get comfortable…"

"In his letter Dio said that Sephiroth was heading in this direction," Cloud replied ignoring Yuffie's complaints. "He could've gone down that footpath," without another word everyone got out of the buggy and walked down the footpath. They reached a fork in the path and they saw two men stood a short distance away talking.

"Reno and Rude…" Zack muttered under his breath as the group came to a stop. "What are they doing here?"

"Sssshhhhh," Tifa whispered as she placed a finger on Zack's lips, "let's just listen to what they have to say."

"Hey Rude, who do you like?" Reno asked eyeing Rude curiously, the bald man turned away not saying anything. "What are you so embarrassed about?" Reno continued to ask coaxing his friend into talking. "Come on, who do you like?"

"…Tifa…" Rude finally answered after a long pause he hung his head and he refused to look at Reno, the red haired man merely laughed.

"Hmmm…" Reno mused quietly as he whistled to himself, "that's a tough one…but poor Elena, she…you…"

"No," Rude answered in his usual manner as he shook his head, "she likes Tseng."

"Really?" Reno questioned in an interested tone eager to find out more, "I never knew that! I thought he liked that Ancient…" A twig that Zack was holding in his hand was snapped in two as the drag human tightened his grip on it when he heard the word Ancient. _"What does Elena see in Tseng?" _Reno thought to himself as he found himself daydreaming about his female colleague. _"She's cute…especially when she's angry, and she probably looks good in a little black dress…Tseng is a workaholic…"_

"What the hell are they talking about?" Cloud asked half to himself and half to his friends. Elena walked up behind them.

"It's so stupid," she complained not realising who she was talking to. "They always talk about who they like and don't like…but Tseng is different…" She turned round and looked at the group. "Ah! Oh no!" She yelled as she realised who she was talking to and she ran towards Reno and Rude. "They're here!" She shouted at her comrades snapping Reno out of his daydream, "they're really here!"

"Damn it Elena!" Reno snapped at Elena as he glared at her, "you just ruined the best daydream I ever had, I was dreaming about…never mind!" He turned away from Elena as he and Rude faced the group. "I guess it's time," he added quickly changing the subject, "don't go easy on them Rude even though they are girls."

"Don't worry," Rude reassured his friend as he got into a fighting stance.

"Then we're counting on you," Elena replied as she saluted, "I'll report this to Tseng," Elena ran off as Reno and Rude continued to stare at Cloud and the others.

"It's been a while," Reno stated as he tapped his shoulder with his nightstick, "you'll pay for what you did back in Sector Seven."

"You mean how we kicked your ass to try and stop you from killing innocent people…" Zack retorted as he glared at Reno and cracked his knuckles, Yuffie tried hard not to throw up at the sound.

"Wait…" Reno replied as he took a closer look at Zack, "I know you, you were one of Hojo's escaped experiments."

"Don't mention me and that lunatic in the same sentence!" Zack snapped at Reno as two fireballs formed in his hands.

"It doesn't really matter to me what you were, right now, you're like a fucking fly that won't stop bugging us!" Reno retorted as he held his nightstick out in front of him. "Rude, let's show them what happens if they mess with the Turks."

"You guys stay back," Cloud told his friends as he and Zack stepped forwards, Cloud took his sword off his back. "Me and Zack will take care of these jokers."

Reno stared at Cloud and chuckled before he charged at Cloud with a cry, he thrust his nightstick forwards only to have it blocked by Cloud's sword. Rude cracked his knuckles causing Yuffie to cringe again as she heard the sickening sound. Rude ran at Zack with his fist pulled back aiming to throw a punch at the drag human. Fortunately Zack side stepped out of the way at the last minute causing the Turk to crash head first into a tree. "Nice crash skinhead!" Zack yelled mockingly as Rude staggered backwards, shook his head vigorously as he came to his senses. He turned round and glared at Zack, Zack balanced himself on one leg and gave Rude a just bring it gesture.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" Rude let out a cry as he charged at Zack again launching into a punching frenzy. Zack ducked and dodged each punch Rude was throwing at him. "Hold still!" Rude yelled in after the fifth punch.

"Sorry, no can do!" Zack retorted as Rude pulled his fist back again, Rude moved in for another punch but Zack caught the fist before it struck its target and he crushed down on the pressure points causing Rude to wince in pain. "You punch like a little girl…" Zack openly mocked Rude, "my grandma can punch better than you…and she must be in her 70s by now…" Zack pulled his fist back and it ignited into flames, Rude's eyes grew wide as he saw the flaming fist shoot towards him and strike him in the face.

"!" Rude yelled at the top of his lungs as he was sent flying back into a tree. Reno and Cloud were busy trading blows but they stopped what they were doing and stared as they saw Rude flying backwards and slam back first into a tree.

"Ooooooohhhhhh…" Reno and Cloud uttered at the same time as they flinched upon the impact. "Shall we?" Reno asked as he turned back to face Cloud.

"Ladies first," Cloud responded as he and Reno resumed fighting, electricity sparked in Reno's nightstick and he raised it above his head intending to hit Cloud with it in order to stun him. But the ex SOLDIER knew what Reno was about to do, he swung his sword round just as Reno brought his nightstick back over his head. The two weapons met with a clang the two men focused as their weapons were pushed against each other sparks flying everywhere but Cloud was the stronger of the two and he quickly forced Reno backwards.

"Whoa!" Reno cried out as he was sent flying backwards, Rude had just recovered and was staggering to his feet when Reno crashed into him causing both Turks to fall backwards and land on the ground. Reno and Rude shook their heads and slowly looked up to see Cloud and Zack standing over them. Cloud pointed his sword at them and Zack cracked his knuckles again.

"WILL YOU STOP CRACKING YOUR KNUCKLES?" Yuffie yelled as she flinched again at the sound, "IT'S KNOCKING ME SICK!" Zack grinned evilly as he cracked his knuckles again.

"Ok…" Reno uttered slowly trying to catch his breath, "so you've both become…more skilled since the last time we fought…"

"Humph…" Rude uttered, the two Turks separated themselves and staggered slowly to their feet and they started to walk off.

"So you guys won this time!" Reno called back to Zack and Cloud as he turned back round to face them. "But we'll be back for a rematch!"

"I look forward to kicking your ass left, right and centre again!" Zack called back as Reno glared at the drag human before he and Rude ran off. The rest of the group walked up to Zack and Cloud.

"That's strange…" Tifa spoke up as she looked in the direction that Reno and Rude ran off in. "It's like they were waiting for us…"

"Yeah," Cloud agreed as he instinctively wrapped his arms round Tifa's waist. "Why else would they be here just as we were arriving?"

"But how did they know we were going to show up here?" Aerith asked as she hugged Zack.

"They must've followed us," Zack answered, "but we didn't see any signs of them, that must mean…"

"Surely you don't think there's a spy among us?" Red asked as he gave Zack a worried look.

"How else could the Turks have known where we are and where we're going?" Zack questioned the beast, everyone looked round at each other wondering who would betray them, Zack's eyes fell on Cait Sith and he remember seeing Cait Sith talking on a mobile before they left North Corel.

"I don't think anyone here would betray us," Cloud spoke up trying to put everyone's minds at ease. "I trust every single one of you, and I don't want to think that there's a spy among us."

Zack started to scan his surroundings the entire forest looked very familiar to him and it made him feel uncomfortable. He never thought that he'd have to come back here again. "Zack, are you ok?" Aerith asked as she saw the worried expression on Zack's face.

"I know this place…" Zack answered barely above a whisper, "my hometown is just through there," Zack stated as he pointed down the left path.

"Really…" Aerith asked, she had never asked Zack what his hometown was called nor where it was. In fact Zack had never talked about his hometown and it was a shock to Aerith when he told the group that they were a short distance away from his hometown.

"Yeah…" Zack answered as he slowly nodded his head, "As far as I know my parents still live here, I haven't returned to Gongaga for ten years."

"We have to go there!" Aerith exclaimed as she started to drag Zack down the left trail.

"Eh he…no don't think so…" Zack stated defiantly as he loosened Aerith's grip on his arm.

"Why not?" Aerith demanded as she pouted at Zack and placed her hands on her hips.

"Aren't you forgetting?" Zack asked as he pointed at himself, "I look like a monster…how's it gonna look when I enter my hometown?"

"But…we're running a little low on supplies…" Aerith reasoned with Zack, "Besides…don't you want to see your parents…if they're still alive…"

"Not while I look like this I don't…" Zack retorted, "Oh hi mum and dad, sorry I haven't contacted you for the past decade, but I was a guinea pig to a raving lunatic who turned me into a freaking monster! That'll work out really well…so well that they'll call a priest!'

"Aerith, if Zack doesn't want to go into town then we can't force him," Tifa spoke up as she walked beside her friend.

"Thank you!" Zack replied gratefully, "at least someone understands my situation!"

"Alright, we'll all go into town and pick up some supplies," Cloud suggested, "we'll come back for you when we're ready, just try not to wander off too far."

"I won't…" Zack promised, and without another word Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, Barret, Yuffie, Cait Sith and Red XIII took the left trail into Gongaga village and Zack started to walk down the right trail. Zack walked through the forest until he came up to a clearing, he looked all around him and saw debris littered across the ground.

"_What happened here?" _Zack asked himself as he carried on walking being careful not to trip over the debris. He soon came to a dead end and he found himself staring at the twisted remains of a Mako reactor. _"Oh yeah…now I remember," _Zack thought to himself as realisation hit him. _"The accident at the reactor…after 11 years you'd think they would've cleared it up…" _Zack closed his eyes as he remembered the explosion and the panicked screams of the townspeople as they searched in vain for loved ones.

Zack was only 12 years old at the time and it was when the reactor exploded that he wanted to join SOLDIER. _"I was naïve back then…" _Zack thought sadly to himself, _"if I'd have discovered the truth about Shinra sooner…" _Zack didn't have time to think about the situation anymore as he heard the sound of a helicopter followed by footsteps. _"Shit…" _Zack mentally panicked, _"the Shinra…I've gotta hide!" _Zack hid behind a large piece of debris just as Tseng a woman with blonde hair wearing a revealing red dress walked up to the reactor.

"_Scarlet…" _Zack said in his head as he recognised the woman, _"the Head of Shinra's Weapons Development and Shinra's resident slut…what's she doing here?" _Zack watched from his hiding place as Scarlet started to poke round the remains of the reactor.

"Hmmm…" Scarlet mused as she stood up and shook her head, "this is no good, you only get junky materia from junky reactors!" She complained as she stamped her foot irritably on the ground. After a while she walked back over to Tseng who was just as rigid as ever, "this reactor's a failure," she stated as she waved towards the remains of the reactor. "What I'm looking for is big, large, HUGE materia!" Scarlet stated as she used her hands for emphasis, "Have you seen any?"

"No," Tseng answered calmly as he shook his head, "I haven't seen it, but I'll get right on it."

"Please," Scarlet replied happily, "we could create the ultimate weapon if only we had some."

"I can't wait," Tseng said in his usual monotonous voice.

"With Hojo gone the Weapon Development Department has been getting a bigger budget," Scarlet continued failing to pick up Tseng's lack of enthusiasm.

"I envy them," Tseng stated still indifferent.

"Hmmm…" Scarlet thought for a moment, "even if we do create the perfect weapon, can that stupid Heidegger use it!" She insulted her fellow executive as Tseng stood there staring at her. "Oh…sorry," Scarlet apologised as she saw the look on Tseng's face, "I forgot that Heidegger was your boss, ha, ha, ha!" "Let's go," Scarlet finally said after a moment of awkward silence and she walked away from the reactor. Tseng stood there for a moment before he walked over to the reactor, he reached into the reactor and pulled out a piece of summon materia. Tseng looked around him before he put the materia in his pocket and walked off.

"_Big, large, huge materia…an ultimate weapon…the perfect weapon…" _Zack repeated everything he heard, _"What are they up to? I better tell Cloud and the others, whatever the Shinra's up to it can't be good." _After making sure that the coast was clear Zack crept out of his hiding place and walked away from the reactor and he was soon in the forest again. "Hmmm…I guess the others aren't back yet," Zack said out loud to himself as he saw that the others were nowhere to be found. "I'll just stay here for a while," Zack walked up to a nearby tree and sat underneath it, he placed his arms over his head and closed his eyes.

"You know, us bumping into each other like this, it's becoming a bad habit, wouldn't you say?" A familiar voice spoke in Zack's ear.

"Keep talking Tseng," Zack quickly retorted without opening his eyes, "cos every word you say could be your last."

"Surely there's no need for threats," Tseng stated calmly, Zack opened his eyes and he saw Tseng standing a few feet away from him.

"What do you want?" Zack demanded as he slowly stood up not taking his eyes off Tseng, he didn't trust the Turk and he wasn't about to let his guard down.

Tseng merely shrugged, "surely there's no harm in talking to an old friend is there?" Tseng responded in that unnervingly calm way.

"Heh…call it what you want," Zack scoffed as he paced up and down scanning his surroundings.

"What are you doing?" Tseng questioned as he watched Zack with great curiosity.

"Searching for your Shinra guard buddies," Zack answered harshly as he searched the last tree in the area. Tseng stared at him but he didn't speak, "I'm here alone," Zack continued as he turned to glare at Tseng again, "my friends are nowhere to be seen, I'm an easy target…so why don't you just get it over with?" Zack demanded as he paced up and down again.

"Like I told you in the Mythril Mines," Tseng answered showing no interest in taking Zack captive. "You're low on my list of priorities at the moment."

"Gee…it's so nice to be wanted…" Zack muttered sarcastically, "but let me guess as soon as Sephiroth is taken care of, I'll be priority number 1 again."

"Zack…" Tseng replied solemnly, "it's nothing personal I'm just…"

"Doing your job…" Zack finished Tseng's sentence for him, "was saving my life part of your job?"

"My orders were to capture you alive," Tseng answered truthfully, "those orders still stand, but at the moment Sephiroth is my main priority. Which is why I'm going to let you go this time."

"How noble of you…" Zack continued to be sarcastic causing Tseng to stare at the drag human.

"Think yourself lucky Zack," Tseng replied, "if I really wanted to capture you I wouldn't have come alone. I won't tell my boss where you are this time, but next time…"

"I won't be so lucky, I've heard it all before Tseng…it's just an empty threat to me…"

"Then I bid you farewell," Tseng replied as he walked over to Zack, "and good luck…oh and just to show that there are no hard feelings." Tseng reached into his pocket and pulled out the materia that he picked up earlier. "Take it," Tseng stated as he held the materia out to Zack, the drag human stared at the materia for a second before he reluctantly took it. "Scarlet may think that this materia is crap but I think differently."

"Why are you giving me this?" Zack asked as he stared at Tseng hardly daring to believe that the Turk had given him something.

"I have my reasons," Tseng answered vaguely as he turned away from Zack. "Like I said, I have nothing against you, it's just that…we're on different sides…" Tseng started to walk off.

"Hey Tseng!" Zack called after the Turk causing him to stop in his tracks and stare at the drag human. "Thanks…" Zack said unsure of whether he was saying the right thing.

"You're welcome," Tseng replied and a smile crept on to his face before it was replaced by his usual solemn expression. "I better go, just try to stay out of our way from now on."

"Sorry Tseng," Zack apologised insincerely, "I can't make a promise I don't intend to keep."

"Very well," Tseng stated calmly.

"Tseng, before you go," Zack stopped Tseng from leaving. "Please, tell me where Cissnei is."

"I can't do that," was all Tseng said. "I know she was your friend but her whereabouts is of no concern of yours."

"Is she ok?" Zack asked.

"She's fine," Tseng answered. "She just no longer works for us."

"So she quit."

"Yes," Tseng replied. "Why she quit she didn't say. Is that everything or did you have more questions?"

"No, I just wanted to know that she's ok," Zack stated. "Even though we're both on different sides I still know you wouldn't lie to me about Cissnei."

"In that case, this is farewell, for now." Tseng stated as he turned round and walked off just as Cloud and the others arrived.

"Was that Tseng?" Aerith asked as the group saw Tseng walk down the trail and disappear out of sight.

"Yeah," Zack answered as he looked at his friends.

"What the hell did he want?" Barret asked as he stroked his gun arm.

"He just wanted to talk," Zack answered vaguely.

"He wanted to talk…" Tifa repeated what Zack said unsure of what to think.

"If he wanted to capture me, he'd have set his Shinra guard flunkies on me," Zack answered calmly as the group stared at him in shock. "I checked the area," Zack reassured them, "there are no Shinra guards around." He looked over at Cloud and he saw that the ex SOLDIER was stood there in silence holding his head. "Are you ok?" Zack asked as he gave Cloud a concerned stare.

"Huh…" Cloud looked up, "yeah…" he answered as he smiled weakly, "I'm fine, I just have a headache that's all…"

"We told him to rest at the inn," Tifa replied as she placed her hand on Cloud's shoulder, "but he didn't want to."

"I'll be fine," Cloud reassured the group, "I just have a headache…it'll pass…" He saw a red glow emitting from Zack's hand. "What's that?" Cloud asked as he pointed at the glow in Zack's hand.

"Summon materia," Zack answered as he opened his hand to reveal the red materia that Tseng had given him. "Tseng gave it to me."

"Why would he give you materia?" Yuffie asked as she eyed the materia.

"He seemed to think that I'd have a better use for it and you better not get your hands on it!" Zack added as he moved the materia away from Yuffie.

"Oh…" Yuffie sighed looking disappointed.

"Where did Tseng get it from?" Tifa questioned.

"He got it from the ruined reactor," Zack answered truthfully as he gave the materia to Aerith, Aerith put the materia into her pack to keep it safe. "Scarlet was there as well."

"Scarlet…" Cloud asked as he stared at Zack, "as in the Head of Shinra's Weapons Development…"

"Yep," Zack answered as he nodded his head, "her and Tseng were talking about something…" He explained to the group everything he had heard at the ruined reactor, when he had finished his friends were staring at him in shock.

"Huge materia…" Red mused as he thought about what Zack had said. "Interesting…"

"You've heard of it?" Zack asked as he stared at the beast.

"Only vaguely," Red replied, "my grandfather told me that huge materia is extremely rare, and if the Shinra are after some huge materia than that could be a problem."

"Scarlet said that if she had some huge materia she could make the ultimate weapon…the perfect weapon…" Zack stated solemnly.

"That can't be good," Cloud replied, "all the more reason for us to stop the Shinra."

"Was Sephiroth in the village?" Zack asked he couldn't help but worry about his parents and the people of Gongaga.

"No," Cloud replied as he shook his head, "if he was here he's long gone," Cloud looked around him before turning to face the group again. "Let's go," the leader of Avalanche said as he walked down the trail back to the buggy his friends followed him.

After five minutes the group were on their way and an hour later the scenery changed as the forests were replaced by towering canyons. The group had just passed the first canyon as the buggy began to spark and stall. "Come on…" Cloud muttered under his breath as he turned the key in the ignition hoping to get the buggy to move faster. After another five minutes the buggy stopped completely as the engine sputtered and died. "Damn it!" Cloud cursed loudly as he banged his fists on the steering wheel, Cloud got out of the car and lifted the bonnet up to look inside it.

"What's the freaking hold up!" Yuffie yelled impatiently as she wound her window down to see what was going on.

"JUST SHUT IT YUFFIE!" Cloud yelled at the top of his lungs as he continued to search for the problem. "I NEED TO THINK!" He started to pace round thinking of what to do next. "Does anyone know anything about mechanics?" Cloud asked the group, everyone shook their heads. "Just as I thought," Cloud muttered under his breath as everyone else got out of the buggy.

"Cosmo Canyon's not to far from here," Red stated as he pointed at a red coloured canyon which looked larger than the rest and had buildings on it. "Why don't we go there and rest for a while?" Red suggested helpfully, "Maybe we can find a mechanic there, don't worry about the buggy, it'll be safe."

"Well, I can't think of anything else to do," Cloud said with a sigh, "we'll go to Cosmo Canyon, Red, can you lead the way?" Cloud asked the beast.

"Of course," Red answered, "follow me," Red ran off and the group followed him. After ten minutes of walking the group arrived at some large stone steps and they began to climb up the stairs.

"Phew…" Barret sighed as beads of sweat dropped from his forehead, "I'm too old to be climbing steps…"

"Speak for yourself!" Yuffie grumbled with every step she took, "I'm fucking knackered!"

"I'd carry you," Zack replied as he walked beside the ninja grinning evilly at her. "Except…there's one small problem…"

"Oh yeah…and what's that?" Yuffie asked as she stared at Zack.

"I can't be assed," Zack stated causing Yuffie to glare at the drag human.

"Oh very funny dragon boy!" Yuffie yelled at Zack as the drag human laughed. "You can fly to the top no problem…"

"And let me guess, you'd want me to carry you…" Zack questioned as he stared at Yuffie.

"Let's not be so hasty…" Yuffie stated nervously as she backed away from Zack.

"I didn't think so…" Zack replied as he shook his head, "You're in the same boat as everyone else so do us all a favour, quit complaining cos you're giving me a headache…" The drag human snapped as he strode passed Yuffie making sure to catch her with his tail as he walked passed.

"Hey! Watch where you're putting that thing!" Yuffie shouted at Zack.

"I can't control my tail…" Zack told an obvious lie, "The tail controls…ME!" Zack put on a scary voice as he turned round to face Yuffie.

"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!" Yuffie screamed as she leapt back scared as Zack was doubled over laughing.

"Stop it you two!" Cloud commanded as he glared at Yuffie and Zack, "We're half way there, so Yuffie stop complaining and Zack stop winding Yuffie up!"

"Ok," Zack and Yuffie replied in perfect unison and the group continued to climb the steps without anymore complaining. They soon reached the top and they saw a young man wearing grey robes standing at the gate.

"It is I Nanaki!" Red made his presence known as the gate keeper stared at the beast. "I am home!"

"Hey Nanaki!" The gate keeper greeted Red excited to see him home, "you're safe! Come on and say hello to Bugenhagen!" The gate keeper moved out of the way to let Red passed and the beast entered the main canyon smiling at the gate keeper as he did so.

"Hmmm…Cosmo Canyon," Aerith mused as she looked around her, "I wonder if there's any relation to the planet or the Ancients."

"Red seems different, doesn't he?" Tifa asked.

"Are you guys familiar with this place?" The gate keeper asked the group as they shook their heads. "Then let me explain, people from all over the world come here to seek the study of planet life," the gate keeper explained, "but we're at full capacity here at the moment, so I'm afraid I can't let you enter."

"These guys helped me out a lot on the road," Red reasoned with the gate keeper, "please let them in."

"Is that so?" The gate keeper asked as he smiled at the group, "you helped our Nanaki, please come in," the gate keeper moved out of the way to let the group passed.

"Who's Nanaki?" Zack asked the gate keeper as he walked passed.

"Nanaki is Nanaki," the gate keeper answered not able to think of the best way to explain it. "That is his name."

"I see…" Zack mused, _"I'm so gonna rib Red for that later…" _Zack snickered to himself as he ran to catch up with the others. He soon found the group gathered at a large flame, Zack saw Cloud return after talking to a man.

"Ok, I found a mechanic," Cloud informed the group as the mechanic walked passed and smiled at Cloud, "he's gonna fix the buggy, he said it'll be ready by the next morning, so we may as well enjoy ourselves."

"Hey," Red stated, I'd really like you to meet my grandfather Cloud, he lives in the observatory up there," Red looked up and everyone did the same and they saw a large circular building at the very top of the canyon.

Cloud smiled at Red, "I'd be honoured to meet your grandfather," Cloud stated as the beast smiled at him. "We'll be back in a while guys." Red walked off, Cloud stayed where he was for a moment smiled at Tifa and followed Red.

"Well, I'm gonna go to the inn," Barret stated, "my feet are killing me…"

"I think I'll stay here for a while," Yuffie added as she sat down next to the flame and removed her boots, "and rest my weary feet."

"I'm gonna walk round the canyon for a bit and see the sights," Tifa replied.

"Come on Zack," Aerith grabbed hold of Zack's arm and dragged him off, "let's go materia shopping."

"Again…" Zack asked as Aerith dragged him off, Barret, Tifa, Yuffie and Cait Sith laughed before Barret headed to the inn, Tifa walked off on her own and Yuffie and Cait Sith stayed at the giant flame.

Zack and Aerith walked in a general left direction admiring the scenery as they tried to find the materia store. "It's so peaceful here," Aerith remarked as she stared in awe at the mighty canyons around her. "I feel like I'm at one with the Planet here…" Aerith and Zack reached some more stone steps leading into the canyon itself. They were about to climb the steps when Zack turned round and he saw a small toddler in the crowd grinning evilly when he saw Zack.

"STOP FOLLOWING ME!" Zack yelled at the top of his lungs causing everyone to stop what they were doing and stare at Zack.

"Zack what are you yelling for?" Aerith asked Zack as she gave him a concerned look.

"Look over there…" Zack answered as he pointed towards the kid, "that's the same kid I saw in Kalm and Junon, I swear it's following me…"

"Don't be ridiculous Zack," Aerith admonished, "how can a small child follow you?"

"I don't know…" Zack retorted, "it's evil…" Aerith shook her head and she climbed up the steps into the canyon. Zack was about to follow Aerith, he turned round and he saw that the child and his mother had disappeared into the crowd. Zack shook his head and he followed Aerith up the steps. After much searching they managed to find the materia store deep within the canyon. The materia store consisted of a single circular room with countless materia stacked on the shelves. "Why am I getting the feeling of déjà vu?" Zack asked as he looked around him, "probably because when you've been in one materia store you've been in them all."

"Zack can you stop complaining and help me look," Aerith pleaded with Zack as she took a piece of materia off the shelf. "Oooohhh…Revive materia!" Aerith squealed as she read the description. "Guaranteed to revive a fallen friend or comrade, effective against undead enemies…warning…doesn't work if the person in question is blown up."

"That's so nice to hear…" Zack muttered sarcastically as Aerith grabbed several Revive materia and paid for them at the counter. Aerith and Zack had barely left the shop when Aerith's mobile rang.

"Hello?" Aerith spoke in her polite phone voice.

"Aerith it's Cloud," Cloud spoke down the phone.

"Hi Cloud," Aerith replied in a cheery voice. "What is it?"

"I was talking to Bugenhagen, Red's grandfather, and he said he was going to show me something, I thought you'd be interested seen as it's about the Planet."

"Sure Cloud, I'd love to go," Aerith responded hardly able to contain her excitement.

"Great," Cloud replied happily, "oh and if Zack's with you bring him along too."

"Ok, we'll meet you at the observatory," Aerith agreed, "bye," she hung up on the phone as Cloud did the same, Aerith turned round to look at Zack. "That was Cloud," she stated before Zack even had a chance to ask. "He said that Bugenhagen wanted to show him something interesting, about the Planet."

"Oh joy…" Zack replied showing an obvious lack of enthusiasm.

"Come on," Aerith responded as she grabbed hold of Zack's hand and dragged him off. "You'll like it." Zack mumbled unintelligibly but he let Aerith drag him off. They soon reached the observatory, they entered the building and they saw Cloud and Red stood outside a door.

"Aerith, Zack," Cloud greeted his two friends, "you made it."

"Of course we did," Aerith replied happily, "we wouldn't miss this for the world."

"Ho, ho, ho!" A hearty laugh boomed through the observatory. "Are you ready Cloud?" The voice asked, "come in when you're ready, the door is unlocked."

"Well, I guess this is it," Cloud stated, he, Zack and Aerith were about to enter the room when they saw that Red wasn't coming with them. "Aren't you coming Red?" Cloud asked the beast.

"No," Red answered as he shook his head, "I've seen it over a million times, but you'll enjoy it, it's an unforgettable experience. I'm going to explore for a while, but I'll meet you all at Cosmo Candle, that's the giant flame we saw earlier." Red explained what Cosmo Candle was before he left the observatory.

Cloud pushed the door open and he, Aerith and Zack entered the room to find an old man wearing a green robe, blue jacket, brown sandals and dark glasses. He was Hewstanding by a large complicated looking machine. "We're here Bugenhagen," Cloud greeted the old man, the old man turned round and he smiled at the group.

"Excellent," Bugenhagen stated as he walked slowly to one side of the machine. "Let's begin, can you all stand on that side of the machine?" Bugenhagen asked as Cloud, Zack and Aerith stood at the side nearest the door. Bugenhagen pushed a button on the machine, it hummed to life as a platform rose up and took the group to the upper level. When the platform came to a stop the group stepped off and looked around to find themselves in a simulation of the Solar System.

"Wow…" Aerith exclaimed as she stared at the simulated Solar System in awe. "It's so pretty…just like the real thing…"

Bugenhagen walks slowly towards a model of Jupiter, "yes, it's something isn't it?" He asked as he gazed admiringly at the simulation, "this is my laboratory, all the workings of the universe are placed in this 3D holographic system.

Aerith continued to look around as a shooting star whizzed passed her, "Oooohhh…a shooting star…" Aerith gasped as she watched the shooting star.

"It's amazing…" Zack whispered, like Aerith, Zack was in awe he never knew that the Solar System looked like this and something had woken up inside him and he had a sudden urge to find out more.

"Ho, ho, ho!" Bugenhagen laughed as he smiled at the group, "I'm glad you think so, well let's get to the subject. Eventually…humans die," Bugenhagen began his explanation. "What happens to them after they die?" Zack, Cloud and Aerith stared at Bugenhagen as they tried to think of the answer. "The body decomposes and returns to the Planet, that much we all know," Bugenhagen continued to explain, "but what happens to their consciousness, their hearts and their souls?" Cloud, Zack and Aerith stood there in silence taking every word that Bugenhagen was telling them. "The soul too returns to the Planet," the wise man continued, "and not only those of humans, but everything on this planet, in fact all living things in the universe are the same."

"So every living being in the universe would return to the Planet when they die?" Zack asked.

Bugenhagen nodded, "yes," he answered as he raised his arms. "The spirits that return to the Planet merge with one another and roam the Planet. They roam, converge and divide becoming a swell called the Life Stream."

"The Life Stream…" Aerith repeated the last two words, "I've heard that term before."

"The Life Stream," Bugenhagen replied as he smiled kindly at Aerith, "in other words, a path of energy of the souls roaming the Planet." Bugenhagen lowers his arms again as Zack, Cloud and Aerith smiled at each other as they became more and more interested. "Spirit Energy, is a word you should never forget. Children are blessed with spirit energy and are brought into the world. Then when the time comes, they die and once again return to the Planet. Of course there are exceptions, but this is the way of the world. I've digressed, but you'll understand better if you watch this."

A model of the Earth floated towards the group, they saw trees, humans and animals being born and dying. Their bodies turned into masses of light which travelled across the Planet and formed new beings. Many brightly coloured lights travelled round the model planet illuminating it. "Spirit energy makes all things possible," Bugenhagen informed the group, "birds, trees and humans," Bugenhagen raised his arm again. "Not just living things, but spirit energy also enables planets to be planets." The energy began to converge near Bugenhagen's hand, what happens, if all this energy were to disappear." The energy was drawn to Bugenhagen's sleeve, when all the energy was gone the model planet turned black and crumbled away. "These are the basics of studying planet life."

"If all the spirit energy is lost, our planet is destroyed," Cloud stated sadly as he stared at the place where the model planet used to be.

"Ho, ho, ho!" Bugenhagen laughed heartily, "Spirit energy is efficient because it exists within nature. However, when spirit energy is forcefully extracted and manufactured it can't perform its true purpose."

"Mako energy…" Zack muttered under his breath.

"Everyday the Mako reactors suck up the spirit energy diminishing it," Bugenhagen answered solemnly. "Spirit energy gets compressed in the reactors and processed into Mako energy. All living things are being used and thrown away, in other words, Mako energy would only destroy the Planet."

"I never thought of it that way…" Zack stated, in all the time he had worked for Shinra he had never thought that using Mako would harm the Planet, but now he knew the truth and it gave him another reason to hate the Shinra.

The group stepped back on to the platform and it took them back down again. "The story of the planets…and those that lived with them…if you wish to find out more, then you must listen to the words of the Elders," Bugenhagen advised the group.

"We will," Aerith replied "and thanks, I really learned a lot." The group left the observatory and after listening to the wisdom of the elders Cloud, Zack and Aerith returned to Cosmo Candle where the rest of the group was waiting for them. Cloud found Tifa and sat down next to her, Zack and Cloud sat down between Red and Cloud.

"This place is so boring…" Yuffie complained, "Can't we do something else?"

"Well I find this place interesting," Aerith disagreed with the ninja. "I really learned a lot, the elders taught me many things about the Cetra and the Promised Land…"

"Yeah," Zack agreed, "it really opened my eyes." Aerith looked down at her hands and sighed sadly. "Aerith, what's wrong?" Zack asked his voice was filled with concern.

"I'm alone…" Aerith muttered forlornly, "I'm alone now…"

"That's not true," Zack spoke up as he wrapped his arm round Aerith to reassure her. "I'm here, we all are."

Aerith looked up and she smiled ruefully at Zack, "I know," Aerith answered, "but I mean that I'm the only Cetra…"

"Does this mean we can't help?" Cloud asked.

Aerith looked away, she didn't want to face anyone. She knew that she had a great task ahead of her, she wasn't sure what it was yet but she knew that there was a high risk that she'd die. But she didn't want to say anything to her friends, she didn't want to worry them. "Aerith…whatever it is you're feeling right now…" Zack whispered in Aerith's ear as he stroked her hair. "You don't have to go through it alone." Aerith turned to face Zack again, she moved closer to him and she rested her head in his chest.

"Zack…" Aerith whispered to the drag human, "Don't ever leave me."

"I won't leave you," Zack promised Aerith, "I never will leave you, and that is a promise I intend to keep. Aerith smiled again and she looked deep into Zack's eyes and she knew that she could always rely on Zack when she needed him. Zack turned round and he saw that Cloud had his arm wrapped round Tifa, he saw that Tifa had moved closer to Cloud and he could hear her whisper something in Cloud's ear.

"Cloud," Tifa whispered to the ex SOLDIER, "sometimes I feel like you're going far away, you won't right?"

"I'm not going anywhere Tifa," Cloud reassured Tifa, everyone took it in turns to talk and reminisce about the past.

"…Long ago…" Red spoke up when it was his turn to talk, he was staring into the fire. "When I was still very small…we were all around this flame…" Red shook his head as he saw that everyone was now staring at him. "Never mind…" The beast said quickly reluctant to go on.

"What did you do?" Zack asked like everyone else he was eager to find out more.

"It's about my parents," Red continued to explain as he turned to face the flame again. "When I talk about my mother, I am full of pride and joy…and that's fine, but when I remember my father," Red growled angrily as he spoke about his father. "My heart is full of anger."

"You really can't forgive your father…" A voice spoke behind the group causing them all to turn around and see Bugenhagen stood there leaning on his cane.

"Of course!" Red snapped as he quickly stood up, "he left mother for dead! When the Gi tribe attacked, he ran off by himself, leaving mother and the people of this canyon!"

Bugenhagen gave Red a solemn look, "come Nanaki…there's something you must see…" Red continued to stare at the old man hardly daring to believe it, Bugenhagen merely smiled, "this place may be dangerous," he continued as he started to walk of. "Cloud, I was wondering if you and your friends could accompany us."

"I was just getting comfortable here a…Mmmmmmm…" Yuffie let out a muffled cry as Zack clamped a hand over her mouth.

"We'll go with you," Cloud quickly cut in as Zack removed his hand from Yuffie's mouth, the ninja scowled at the drag human.

"Were you trying to suffocate me?" Yuffie demanded as she continued to glare at Zack.

"I'd be lying if I said the thought hadn't crossed my mind," Zack retorted, he grinned evilly at Yuffie as he leapt off the platform with the flame.

"Hey!" Yuffie yelled as she leapt off the platform and landed in front of Zack. "That was pure evil what you just said!"

"Can you both stop arguing please?" Cloud snapped causing both the ninja and the drag human to stare at Cloud. "We have an important job to do ok."

"Ok," Zack and Yuffie said at the same time, without another word the group followed Bugenhagen into the canyon itself, the group stopped outside a metal door which appeared to be sealed shut.

"Is this the place?" Red asked as the group found themselves staring at the door.

"Maybe I can claw my way through," Zack stated as he stepped towards the door, his claws sprang out of the slits in his gloves and he thrust his claws into the door and to his surprise he found that his claws couldn't penetrate the door. "What the…" Zack muttered under his breath as he tried to penetrate the door again with his claws but they still wouldn't go in. Zack took a few paces back from the door and concentrated on his target. "Aaaaahhhhhhh!" Zack yelled at the top of his lungs as he charged at the door leapt into the air and performed a flying kick on the door. He rebound off the door and landed flat on his back. "Owwww…" Zack let out a muffled cry as pain shot through both his back and his foot, the drag human regretted kicking the door.

"Are you alright?" Aerith asked as she knelt down beside Zack and helped him to sit up.

"Yeah…" Zack answered as he rubbed his back, Aerith helped Zack to his feet and the drag human stared at the door again. "What gives…" He complained as he looked down at his claws and back at the door again. "My claws can cut through anything…pretty much…they should've been able to cut through that door…"

"Ho, ho, ho!" Bugenhagen's laugh echoed in the cavern as the man hobbled over to the door using his cane as a support. "That door is made out of reinforced titanium," the old man explained. "It's the strongest metal in the world, not even your claws can cut through it."

"And you couldn't tell me that before…" Zack sighed exasperatedly as he glared at the old man.

Bugenhagen merely smiled at Zack, "would you have given an old man a chance to explain?" Bugenhagen asked as Zack gave him a blank stare, "I thought not, not to mention seeing you kick a door made of reinforced titanium out of sheer frustration was in itself amusing."

"Ha, ha, ha…" Zack laughed sarcastically not taking his eyes off the old man, "can you open this door or not?"

Bugenhagen nodded, "of course, question is, are you ready to enter the door and face the dangers ahead?"

Cloud looked at his comrades and they all nodded, "we're ready," Cloud answered and Bugenhagen's smile grew wider. The old man walked a few steps away from the door to the wall, he placed his hand on a certain part of the wall and a secret panel opened revealing a button in the wall. Bugenhagen pushed the button and the sealed door opened.

"A button…" Zack uttered as he stared at the now open door, "I knew that…"

"Alright," Bugenhagen stated as he walked towards the door again, "come in, come in."

"Grandpa, aren't you coming with us?" Red asked as he stared hopefully at Bugenhagen as the man leaned on his cane.

"What, are you crazy?" Bugenhagen questioned, his voice wasn't angry, rather it was amused. "It's dangerous in there, I already told you that, You want an old man like me to go in first…I'll be right behind you…"

Zack crept slowly through the open door into the next room, Zack found himself standing on a ledge. However it was too dark for him to see what was below. Zack looked at the wall to see a small alcove with a stone slab sticking out of it. Zack breathed in deeply as an orange ball formed in his mouth, he breathed a small jet of flames on to the stone slab. The flames lit the stone slab creating a torch and illuminating the cavern. Zack looked down and he saw a series of ropes leading down to the bottom, he saw no monsters.

"It's ok!" Zack called back to the group, "there's no monsters, but it looks like a long climb down."

"Don't worry grandpa, I'll carry you on my back," Red offered as the old man climbed on to the beast's back, fortunately for Red Bugenhagen was extremely light. Zack started to climb down the first rope as one by one the group entered the room. Red leapt from platform to platform with Bugenhagen on his back as the rest of the group started to climb down the ropes.

"Phew…" Barret sighed as he slowly climbed down the rope, having only one hand to grip with Barret was finding it even more difficult to climb down the ropes like everyone else. "First it's stair climbing now it's rope climbing…I'm not cut out for this…"

"Almost there," Tifa reassured Barret, she was a few feet below him and she didn't seem to have any problems climbing down the rope. Red and Bugenhagen were the first ones to reach the bottom followed closely by Zack, then Cloud and Tifa, soon everyone was at the bottom of the cavern and the group pressed on. They entered the next room to find that it was a large cave filled with smaller caves, the room was dimly lit by torches. The walls were crawling with ivy and moss and it had a musty smell.

"Peeewww…" Yuffie complained as she held her nose, "this place smells worse than Barret's farts!"

"Hey!" Barret snapped as he pointed his gun arm at Yuffie, "you watch your mouth!"

"Sssshhhhh…" Zack warned them as he slowly stepped forwards, his claws were out, his tail was standing on end and the hairs on the back of his neck bristled as though a chill was running through them. "Keep your voices down, there could be monsters lurking around." Everyone in the group withdrew their weapons and got into fighting stances all except Aerith who was leaning against the wall of one of the smaller caves, she had her eyes closed obviously in deep concentration. "Aerith…" Zack asked as he placed his hand on the Cetra's shoulder snapping her out of her concentration. "Are you ok?"

"I sense something…" Aerith spoke up slightly frightened as she opened her eyes and looked around her nervously. "An evil presence…" She turned back to look at Zack, "I don't think we're alone here…" Just as she said this the torches suddenly diminished plunging the room into darkness.

"What's going on?" Tifa yelled as she felt around in the dark trying to find her friends. "Where is everyone?" Tifa tripped over a stone and landed on the ground, "Aaaaahhhhh!" Tifa screamed as she felt herself being lifted up by two very strong hands.

"Relax Tifa…" a familiar voice whispered in her ear, "it's me Cloud." Tifa reached her hand up to stroke Cloud's face, she then moved her hand up to his hair and she felt each individual spike.

"Thank heavens it's you," Tifa heaved a huge sigh of relief as everyone took several steps backwards until they met back to back in the centre of the room.

"What happens now?" Yuffie asked as she tried to see what was going on, but she couldn't see anything.

"We wait," Zack stated calmly as he grabbed hold of Aerith's hand and held it tightly. Evil laughter echoed in the cavern as several sinister looking spirits materialised out of the walls, huge scythes appeared in their ghostly hands as they surrounded the group. "Ghosts…" Zack muttered as he stared at the ghost nearest to him trying to find a weak point. The ghost raised its scythe in the air and quickly struck horizontally a clanging sound could be heard as the scythe met with Zack's tail. As if on cue the room was thrown into chaos as everyone fought against the ghosts. The group tried to attack the ghosts with every physical attack they could think off but their attacks just passed straight through them. Yuffie was surrounded by several ghosts and she tried in vain to attack them with her shuriken but the ghosts moved closer to her.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!" Yuffie screamed as she cowered on the floor, the ghosts shrieked in pain as they were suddenly attacked by fire. Yuffie looked up to see Aerith stood in front of her, her staff was glowing green. "Aerith!" Yuffie called out to the Cetra relieved to see her.

"Physical attacks won't work against them!" Aerith advised Yuffie as she tossed the ninja a piece of materia, "use magic against them!" Yuffie caught the piece of materia and she equipped it into her weapon before she ran off to help Barret out.

Aerith saw five more ghosts appear in front of her, her staff glowed red as she summoned Shiva the Ice Goddess, the room all around became cold as Shiva appeared and encased all the ghosts surrounding Aerith in ice. Aerith quickly spun her staff round and shattered the now frozen ghosts, Aerith thanked Shiva before the summon disappeared.

Tifa had equipped a piece of lightning materia into her glove and she aimed powerful lightning based punches at any ghost that appeared even giving one of them a lightning infused elbow before it had chance to strike her. Five more ghosts appeared behind Tifa but they were soon destroyed by a powerful beam of energy which diffused into smaller beams of energy. Tifa turned round and she saw Cloud kneeling down slightly as he recovered from his attack. "Thanks," Tifa said gratefully.

"You're welcome," Cloud responded as Tifa ran up to him again and helped him to attack more ghosts that showed up.

The ghost that had first attacked Zack was still trying to strike him with its scythe but with each strike it kept getting caught in the spear end of Zack's tail. The ghost brought its scythe back aiming for another try, when the ghost brought its scythe back round again Zack caught it in one hand and started to swing the scythe round in circles with the ghost still dangling on to it. Zack's swings were so powerful that the ghost lost its grip on the scythe and was sent flying backwards dazed. Zack saw his chance and he threw the scythe at the ghost, the ghost shrieked in pain as it disappeared along with the scythe. The other ghosts stopped fighting and stared at the place where their leader was a few seconds ago and they fled. Once the ghosts had fled the torches came back on and the group were stood in separate parts of the cave panting, Zack found Aerith kneeling on the ground next to another mini cave and he ran up to her. "Are you ok?" He asked as he held his hand out to help Aerith up.

"I'm fine," Aerith replied as she grabbed hold of Zack's hand and let him help her to her feet. "I'm just glad that that battle was over…"

"Something tells me this is far from over," Zack whispered in Aerith's ear as the Cetra hugged him tightly. The other members of the group started to come to their senses and they walked to where Zack and Aerith were.

"Grandpa?" Red's voice echoed throughout the cavern as he searched around frantically for Bugenhagen.

"I'm over here!" The old man called back, the group followed the voice and they found Bugenhagen stood next to a passageway leading to the next cave.

"Grandpa! You're ok!" Red exclaimed happily as he ran to Bugenhagen. "What were those ghosts?"

"Ho, ho, ho!" Bugenhagen began with his usual laugh, "everyone here is a ghost of the Gi tribe," Bugenhagen answered, "they were killed in a certain battle."

"A certain battle…" The group asked at the same time.

"The vengeful spirits of the Gi didn't simply disappear, nor could they return to the Life Stream." Bugenhagen continued with his explanation, "We still have a long way to go, ho, ho, ho!" The group stared at Bugenhagen in stunned silence so Bugenhagen continued, "Let's move on." The group entered the next cave and they saw that it was filled with lava, the group walked along the ledges being careful not to fall. Fortunately there were no Gi ghosts around and the group soon reached the other side of the cave with no problems.

"This warrior went through the cave all alone," Bugenhagen informed the group, "fighting attackers one after the other."

"Grandpa…that warrior…" Red started to ask as he gave Bugenhagen a curious stare, he wanted to find out more about the warrior but he knew that Bugenhagen wouldn't tell him until it was the right time.

"Ho, ho, ho!" Bugenhagen laughed again, "We're almost there," he encouraged the group as they entered the next cave. The next room was smaller than the previous one and it had a large grotesque head.

"That is the ugliest mother fucker I've ever seen!" Zack stated as he stared at the grotesque face.

"It probably thinks you're ugly," Yuffie retorted causing the drag human to glare at her. The group walked closer to the head and stared at it, the head roared as its grin became more sinister.

"What's this…" Bugenhagen questioned as he stared at the head in shock.

"Grandpa…is he?" Red asked as everyone stared at the head.

"After death…" Bugenhagen slowly explained, "The ghosts of the Gi…like stagnant air…this can't be…" The group could do nothing but stare in horror as the face came to life and detached itself from the wall to reveal a large ghost like body. Two large flames appeared at either side of it as the ghost laughed evilly. The group withdrew their weapons and got into fighting stances as Bugenhagen staggered back to safety. The group launched into an all out assault against the giant ghost hitting it with every offensive spell they could think of. Zack charged forwards and leapt into the air he created fire in one hand and ice in the other he threw the fire and ice balls at the ghost at the same time dealing extensive fire and ice damage to the ghost. The ghost grabbed hold of Zack with its large hands threw him to the ground and ordered the two flames to go into Zack's body.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!" Zack cried out in pain as searing heat surged through his body. He staggered slowly to his feet and held his head as he tried to block out the pain.

"Zack!" Aerith yelled, she had a sudden urge to run to him, but Cait Sith stopped her.

"I wouldn't go anywhere near there lassie," Cait Sith warned Aerith as Aerith placed her hand over her mouth as she along with her friends saw Zack rise into the air and be engulfed in flames.

"No way is he gonna survive that…" Cloud muttered under his breath as he continued to watch Zack's body being completely covered in flames. After a few seconds most of the flames died down and Zack still hovered in the air, his eyes were tightly shut. The ghost gave a satisfied grunt as it believed that it had killed Zack, it turned its attention to Zack's friends and was about to attack when Zack's eyes fluttered open to reveal blood red pupiless irises. Zack's skin became red and florescent as a fiery aura surrounded his body. His hair, wings, and tail were engulfed in flames. The ghost turned round and saw Zack hovering in the air beating his flaming wings, he grinned at the ghost before he charged towards it leaving a trail of flames in his wake. The ghost tried to attack Zack with its clawed hands, Zack focused his energy as he breathed in and shot two large and powerful jets of flames out of his mouth winding themselves round the ghost like a pair of snakes binding its arms at its sides while dealing extensive damage. Zack then closed his flaming wings and let himself drop to the ground, he landed palms first on the ground and caused columns of lava to come up out of the ground and completely engulfed the ghost dealing even more damage. When the flaming columns disappeared the ghost was on its last legs. Aerith reached into her pack and she took out a piece of revive materia that she had bought earlier.

"Zack use this!" Aerith yelled as she tossed the materia, Zack caught it and the materia glowed even brighter as it embedded itself into Zack's arm giving that arm a green aura. Zack flew up to the now dying ghost, he raised his arm with the materia in.

"PHOENIX TEAR!" Zack yelled at the top of his lungs as a small flame filled with holy power appeared underneath the ghost, the flame grew bigger and it completely engulfed the ghost the flame twisted as it changed into the form of a flaming phoenix, the fire bird spread its wings out as the ghost was hit with both fire and revive magic. When the phoenix eventually disappeared the ghost fell to the ground before it turned to dust. Zack closed his eyes exhausted as he slowly floated down to the ground the flames surrounding his body disappeared as the two flames left Zack's body and disappeared, Aerith ran to Zack and she caught him as he fell his body had returned to normal. Zack's eyes fluttered open to reveal yellow Mako infused eyes. "Aerith…" Zack muttered under his breath as he saw the Cetra.

"Yeah," Aerith replied as Zack started to come round and he staggered to his feet. "What happened?" Aerith asked still in awe at what she had seen.

"I don't know," Zack answered truthfully, "the flames went inside me and…I felt this surge of power inside me…"

"Hmmm…" Red stated as he everyone walked towards Zack, "It would seem that because of your mutation, instead of being killed by the possessing flames they became one with your body and transferred their power to you for the duration of that fight."

"So I could manipulate fire…" Zack asked as he looked at his hands in shock, he saw the glowing green aura then he realised that he still had the revive materia in his arm. Zack placed his hand over his arm and the materia came out of his arm, he gave it back to Aerith, "thanks Aerith," he replied gratefully as Aerith put the materia back into her pack. "I really needed that materia."

Aerith chucked slightly, "I knew it would come in handy."

"Thank you Zack," Bugenhagen thanked the drag human he too was in awe at what he had seen. "You survived even though both flames went inside you and you used the powers well, because of you, we all survived."

Zack blushed, "it was nothing," was all he said.

"Don't be modest," Bugenhagen said as he continued to smile at Zack, "if you can use the powers from two flames, I believe that you can gain powers from other elemental and magical source which touch your body," Zack nodded as he understood what Bugenhagen was saying. "And Nanaki," Bugenhagen turned his attention to Red, "you have also grown strong, now I know that it wasn't a mistake to bring you here, come, I have something I want to show you right over here." Bugenhagen walked through a tunnel where the ghost used to be the group followed and they found themselves outside. It was night time now and the moon and stars were flickering in the sky. There were several boulders and Red leapt on to one of them and looked around.

"This is…" Red spoke up as he turned round to look at Bugenhagen.

"The warrior who fought against the Gi," Bugenhagen answered, "he kept them from taking even one step into Cosmo Canyon." Bugenhagen hung his head sadly, "but…he was unable to return to town…" Bugenhagen stated sadly as he pointed upwards, "look Nanaki, look at your father, the warrior…Seto." The group looked up and they saw a stone statue of a beast that looked similar to Red the moon glowed red behind the statue.

"That's…Seto…" Red stammered hardly daring to believe what he was seeing.

Bugenhagen nodded, "Seto continued to fight the Gi tribe here…to protect this canyon…even after the Gi's poison darts turned his body to stone…even after they all ran away, Seto continued to protect us…and he still protects us…even now."

"Even now…" Red repeated Bugenhagen's last words as the old man nodded.

"You thought that he was a coward and ran away," Bugenhagen explained, "but he alone risked his life to protect Cosmo Canyon. That is your father Seto."

"Did mother know?" Red asked as he turned to face Bugenhagen.

"Ho, ho, ho! She knew," Bugenhagen answered, "the two of them made me promise to keep this cave shut. They asked me to seal it shut and not tell a soul, they said we should forget about this cave." Red looked down at the ground sadly unsure of what to say or think, Bugenhagen turned to Cloud and the others. "Cloud, do you mind leaving me and Nanaki alone for a while?" Bugenhagen asked politely, Cloud nodded and he and the others walked back through the cave to Cosmo Canyon. Soon they were sitting round Cosmo Candle again.

The mechanic that Cloud spoke to earlier walked up to the group, "I've fixed your buggy," he informed them, "it should be as good as new."

"Thanks," Cloud replied gratefully, "how much do we owe you?"

"Don't worry about it," the mechanic answered as he smiled politely, "enjoy the rest of your journey." The mechanic walked off leaving the group alone.

"Well…I think it's time we got going," Cloud stated as he stood up.

"But what about Red?" Tifa asked as she looked sadly at the canyon.

"Red did say that he'd only travel with us until he reached his hometown," Zack replied as Aerith was leaning her head on his chest fast asleep. "I guess he'll be staying here."

"As much as I hate to admit it," Yuffie spoke up as she also stood up, "I'll miss the red beast."

"That's one thing we can all agree on," Barret added, "alright, let's go." The group slowly got to their feet, Zack picked up Aerith and carried her in his arms as she continued to sleep. "It's a good thing your light," Zack whispered in the Cetra's ear, "otherwise this could be a problem," Aerith smiled in her sleep, the group walked to the steps and they were about to climb down them when they heard a voice.

"Wait for me!" Red yelled at the top of his lungs as he finally caught up with the group, "I'm coming too!"

"Hmmm…" Cloud mused as Bugenhagen walked down the steps leading from the canyon and approached the group.

"Can you please look after Nanaki for me?" Bugenhagen requested.

"Sure," Tifa replied, "we'd be glad to."

"What happened anyway?" Zack asked as he smiled at the beast.

"I grew up a little that's what happened," Red answered he looked at Zack and he saw that he was carrying Aerith. "What's wrong with Aerith?" Red asked.

"Nothing," Zack replied, "I guess she was just a little tired after the Gi cave, I did all the fighting in there," Zack said as he chuckled, "I'm the one that should be sleeping…anyway…it's good to have you back Red."

"Thanks," Red responded as he nodded his head, "it's good to be back." Red ran down the steps and the rest of the group followed.

They were half way down the stairs when the gate keeper ran up to them. "Hold on!"

The group stopped and saw the gate keeper, "what's wrong?" Cloud asked the man.

"While you were all in the GI cave, a woman approached me and asked me to give you a letter. I only just remembered it now," the man answered as he hand Cloud a letter.

"Thanks," Cloud replied gratefully as the gate keeper nodded and walked off. Cloud opened the letter and read it. "I know this must be hard, but you must head to Nibelheim." Cloud read the letter out loud but he stopped when he read the word Nibelheim.

"What's wrong?" Tifa asked as she gave Cloud a concerned look.

"Nibelheim was destroyed..." Cloud stated. "Why would we need to go there?"

"The answer must be in the letter," Red stated, "please continue reading."

Cloud nodded and he continued to read the letter out loud. "Sephiroth had a big conection with Nibelheim, it would make sense that he went there." Cloud sighed, "well, if Sephiroth went to Nibelheim then we have no choice."

"Still if it was destroyed why would Sephiroth go there?" Zack asked.

"I don't know," Cloud answered. "But I do know that it's your turn to drive," Cloud added as he tossed the keys to Zack. Zack caught the keys and the group continued down the stairs, they all got into the buggy and Zack eased Aerith into the front passenger seat before he got into the driver's seat. Zack put the key in the ignition and the buggy roared to life again and the group drove through the canyons heading for their next destination. Zack looked at Aerith as he drove and smiled at her as she continued to sleep.

"_She's cute when she sleeps," _Zack thought to himself as he continued to drive through the canyons, Zack's grin grew wider as he knew that they were one step closer to finding Sephiroth and putting an end to it once and for all.

* * *

**Phew…chapter 9 is FINALLY complete, this now has to be the longest chapter I have written so far. My chapters are getting longer and longer each time I type. Oh well…chapter 10 will becoming soon, sorry it took a while to get this chapter up but it took me a while to write it. I hope it was worth it. Just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters and content, they belong to Square Enix. Pirates of the Caribbean 3 belongs to Disney. **


	10. The Haunted Mansion and a Failed Launch

**Chapter 10: The Haunted Mansion and the Failed Launch**

It had been several hours since the group left Cosmo Canyon, they had travelled through the night with Zack and Cloud taking it in turns to drive the buggy. It was early morning when the canyons disappeared and the buggy crossed another river as the scenery was replaced by a lush green field with towering mountains stretching along the horizon. Zack was driving again and he looked to his right at Aerith, he could hear a soft moan as the Cetra began to stir.

"Morning sleepy head," Zack greeted Aerith as she stretched and yawned, she stared bleary eyed at the drag human. "Did you sleep well?" Zack asked as Aerith nodded.

"Yeah…" She replied as she rubbed her eyes to get the sleep out, "how long have I been asleep for?" She asked not taking her eyes off Zack.

"All through the night," Zack answered as he continued to drive the buggy, "we've left the canyons now, take a look outside." Aerith turned her head round and looked out of the window.

"Wow!" She exclaimed loudly causing everyone else in the buggy to wake up suddenly, Tifa opened her eyes to find herself resting on Cloud's chest, she pulled away quickly and smiled awkwardly at Cloud before she turned to look out of the window. "We're not in the canyons anymore!" Aerith continued to exclaim as she saw the mountains. She turned back to look at Zack, "so where are we then?"

Zack merely shrugged, "I dunno," he answered truthfully.

"There's a town over there!" Aerith shouted as she pointed out in front of her, everyone looked in the direction Aerith was pointing in to see a small town at the base of the mountains, Zack, Cloud and Tifa gasped at the same time when they saw it.

"_It can't be…" _Zack thought to himself as images of his past flooded his mind, _"the town was destroyed…I saw it happen…" _Zack was soon snapped out of his train of thought when he felt a tap on his shoulder, Zack turned round to look behind him to find that it was Cloud that tapped him on the shoulder.

"Stop the buggy Zack," Cloud ordered as Zack put his foot on the brake to stop the buggy. The buggy screeched to a halt a few feet away from the town and everyone got out of it and walked to the town. When they entered the town they were shocked to discover that the town was indeed Nibelheim but something was wrong. "That's…impossible…" Cloud stammered as he looked around at the town, "how could this have…"

"This town was burned down right?" Tifa asked as she looked deep into Cloud's eyes for some reassurance that she wasn't going crazy.

"It…was…" Cloud answered still unsure of what to think, "at least…I thought it was…"

"But how…" Tifa found herself asking again as she stepped forwards and looked to her right, she was shocked to discover that her house was there. "My house is still there…" she stated as she pointed at her house.

"Damn it!" Barret cursed as he banged his gun arm on the building nearest to him, "none of this makes sense, now I'm really pissed off!"

"This is so strange…" Aerith uttered as she looked round the perfectly rebuilt town with a confused expression on her face.

"I'm not lying!" Cloud snapped at the group causing everyone to stare at him with confused and hurt expressions on their faces. "Sorry…" Cloud apologised immediately regretting yelling at his friends, "it's just that…I can still remember the intense heat of the flames…"

"You're not the only one…" Zack muttered under his breath barely above a whisper, fortunately no one could hear him. Zack closed his eyes as he let himself succumb to the memories of that fateful day, a day that haunted him even now as he looked around the newly built town as the ear piercing screams of the innocent victims rang in his head causing him to fall to his knees and hold his head.

"Zack!" Aerith called out the drag human's name as she knelt down beside him, "are you ok?" She asked as Zack slowly lifted his head up to look at her.

"Yeah…" Zack answered quietly as he staggered slowly to his feet, "it's just this place…it brings back…a lot of memories…" He looked around the rebuilt town again, "there's something off about this…" Zack stated as he turned back to face the others, "like this town was rebuilt on purpose…"

"You think the Shinra rebuilt this town?" Red asked as he stared at Zack intrigued by the drag human's theory.

"I wouldn't put it passed them," Zack answered not even looking at the group, "Shinra wouldn't have wanted what happened with Sephiroth and Nibelheim to leak out."

"So you're saying they rebuilt the town as a cover up?" Tifa questioned giving Zack a sceptical stare.

"It's a conspiracy," Zack theorised as he turned to face the group again, "Shinra would've rebuilt the town making it look exactly how it was before the fire to keep what really happened under wraps."

"But I was there Zack," Cloud stated as he glared at the drag human, "I saw what happened!"

"I know, you don't have to keep reminding me," Zack retorted neglecting to mention the fact that he was also at Nibelheim at the time. _"I'll let him figure that part out on his own," _Zack thought to himself, "and I'll bet Barret's gun arm…"

"Hey!" Barret interrupted as he glared angrily at Zack and pointed his gun arm at the drag human.

"That the Shinra would've populated the newly rebuilt Nibelheim with their own employees to discredit anyone who witnessed the incident five years ago," Zack continued his hypothesis ignoring Barret. Cloud was about to say something when a man wearing a black cape staggered passed the group.

"Who's that weirdo?" Yuffie asked rudely as she pointed at the man in the black cape that walked passed.

"Do you suppose it's Sephiroth?" Aerith questioned as she too couldn't take her eyes off the man wearing the black cape.

"That's what I want to find out," Cloud stated as he started to follow the cloaked man, the cloaked man saw Cloud coming and broke into a run. Cloud ran after the man.

"Cloud wait!" Zack called after Cloud as he ran after the ex SOLDIER bumping into several people as he tried to catch up. He was aware that people were staring at him for his bizarre appearance but at that moment in time he didn't really care, he had to catch up to Cloud. Zack ran round the corner just in time to see Cloud enter a house in the far south corner of town, Zack ran into the house and he saw Cloud stood at the corner of the room pinning the black cloaked man to the wall.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud yelled at the man waiting for the hooded man to reveal himself. The hooded man just stared at Cloud, the hood still over his face.

"S…Sephiroth…" The man muttered barely above a whisper, it was about the only coherent thing Zack and Cloud heard the man say.

"Is that all you can say?" Cloud demanded as he violently shook the man, "Talk damn you!" Cloud shook the man so hard that his hood fell off to reveal a deathly pale face, the man's eyes were dim and watery and they were fixed up on Cloud and Zack making the two men feel sick at that ghastly sight.

"Just as I thought," Zack spoke up as he stared at the man his face turned a paler shade of purple, "this isn't Sephiroth…Cloud let him go…" Cloud turned round and stared at the drag human, "I said let him go!" Zack repeated louder, Cloud released his grip on the cloaked man and he sagged to the floor.

"S…Sephiroth…" The man uttered again in a hushed tone as he slowly dragged himself across the floor, the man grabbed hold of Zack's foot clasping his bony fingers round Zack's ankle.

"Aaaahhhhh! Get off!" Zack yelled as he shook violently, visibly repulsed by the empty shell of a man that was holding his foot looking up at Zack with his watery green eyes. Zack kicked the man purely out of reflex, Zack's foot struck the man square in the face causing him to release Zack's foot and sag to the floor upon impact unmoving his nose was broken and blood oozed on to the floor, Zack and Cloud stared at the man.

"I think you killed him," Cloud whispered to Zack, the drag human merely shook his head and knelt down beside the bleeding man. Zack placed two fingers on the man's neck under his ear and checked for a pulse.

"Nah…he's still alive," Zack answered when he found a pulse, Zack moved his hand away from the man's neck and rolled up the sleeve of the man's coat to see a numbered tattoo on his shoulder. "Hmmm…he has the number 5 tattooed on his shoulder…"

"Number 5…" Cloud repeated as he saw the black number clearly on the man's shoulder, "that's unusual…"

"There are a lot of unusual stuff in the world," Zack stated as he stood up and gave Cloud a knowing look, "it's just that right now, you're noticing them more." Zack looked around the house for any more suspicious people but he didn't see anyone else. "Come on, we should get back to the others," Zack and Cloud moved away from the unconscious man and they left the house, when they walked back up the path they saw their friends stood there waiting for them.

"Did you get him?" Tifa asked as Zack and Cloud approached the group.

"Yeah," Cloud replied as he stared deeply into Tifa's brown eyes, how warm, friendly and beautiful they were and he couldn't help but fall in love with the woman stood before him. "But…it wasn't Sephiroth…"

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN IT WASN'T SEPHIROTH?" Barret cursed loudly causing the townspeople to stop what they were doing and stare at the group.

"Barret please," Aerith admonished as she placed her hands on her hips and glared at Barret for his vulgar language, "watch your language, people are staring at us as it is." Aerith then turned her attention to Cloud and Zack, "so if it wasn't Sephiroth then who was it?"

"We're not sure," Zack answered truthfully, "he was wearing a black cape so we assumed that it was him. It was a sickening sight, the guy was writhing around on the floor and his face was deathly pale. He was muttering something, I'm not sure what it was, the only thing we could get out of him was Sephiroth."

"Sephiroth…" Tifa mused, "come to think of it, we heard that name being muttered around here too."

"You have…" Cloud asked as he gave Tifa a questioning look.

"While you two buggered off," Yuffie answered frustrated that she was stuck in a town which more than likely had no materia. "More of the cloaked weirdoes showed up."

"They just suddenly appeared in the town," Red added as he pointed his head to the left, the group looked in the direction that Red was looking in and they saw more cloaked figures. "I wonder why they're gathered in this town."

"That's what I want to know," Cloud stated as he marched off into the town square his friends looked at each other and shrugged before they followed Cloud. Cloud entered the town square to find that it looked exactly how it was before Sephiroth had burned it down. "This town…it shouldn't even be here…it was burned to the ground…WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?" Cloud cursed so loudly that the townspeople stopped what they were doing and stared at Cloud in shock, one woman even clamped her hands over her child's ears so that they wouldn't hear Cloud's swearing.

"Cloud please," Tifa whispered in a worried tone as she ran up to Cloud and grabbed hold of his hand while looking round at all the villagers staring at them. "You're making a scene…"

"I DON'T GIVE TWO SHITS!" Cloud continued to yell as he jerked his hand away from Tifa's, "THIS TOWN SHOULD JUST BE RUBBLE! IT SHOULDN'T FUCKING EXIST!" Cloud continued to look around him frantically as he stared at the buildings that shouldn't even be standing, he was aware that people were stood there staring at him but it just made him all the more agitated.

"Young man," An elderly man spoke to Cloud as he walked towards the group, "I've lived here for many years and what you're saying never happened."

"YOU JUST DON'T GET IT DO YOU?" Cloud snapped at the man causing him and the other townspeople to back away. "I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN THIS TOWN, I LIVED HERE UNTIL I WAS 14! THIS TOWN WAS BURNED TO THE GROUND FIVE YEARS AGO…I saw it happen…"

"It's not nice to lie," a middle aged woman stated as she too was staring at Cloud with a mixture of shock and anger. "I've never seen you around and I've lived in this town all my life, maybe you just imagined it."

Cloud glared at the woman, his body was pulsing with anger, he had a right mind to tell the townspeople what really happened, he didn't care how he did it as long as they realised the truth. However before Cloud could even open his mouth Zack stepped in, "Cloud…just leave it."

"But…this town…it was…you believe me right?" Cloud asked as he gave Zack a hopeful stare.

"Yeah…of course I do," Zack answered ignoring the frightened gasps and stares that the townspeople were giving him. "But shouting the odds and acting like a mad man isn't gonna help, it's obvious that they've been brainwashed by Shinra's propaganda."

"!" A woman screamed loudly pointing at Zack, "a monster!" There was mass panic as the townspeople ran frantically in circles trying to get away from Zack, Zack sighed irritably as he folded his arms and gently tapped his foot on the ground, his tail moved slowly from side to side.

"Hey! Lizard Butt!" Yuffie called over to Zack causing the drag human to turn round and glare at the ninja, "you're not gonna stand there and take that are ya?"

"To be honest Yuffie," Zack answered in a bored tone, "I've seen people react like this towards me so many times that I really can't be assed anymore," Zack then walked over to Yuffie grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and pinned her to the wall. "One thing I don't like though is being called names like 'Dragon Boy' and 'Lizard Butt'. The name is Zack, do you think you can remember that?" Yuffie nodded as she stared down at Zack's clawed hands that were slightly digging into her skin, "good," Zack stated satisfied and he released Yuffie. The villagers had returned to their houses much to the relief of the group, the group walked through the town and they found another cloaked man stood outside the Shinra Mansion.

"The…Great…Se…phi…roth…is…near…" The cloaked man uttered barely above a whisper as the group approached the man.

"Where is he?" Zack asked eyeing the man suspiciously he hadn't forgotten that the last cloaked man he spoke to grabbed hold of his foot and it wasn't an experience he wanted to repeat.

"In…side…the…mansion…" the cloaked man answered still in that same monotonous fashion, the man turned round and with a pale, bony finger he pointed towards the Shinra Mansion. "He's…calling…" the man continued to mutter as he stared vacantly into space paying the group no more heed, "Sephiroth…is…calling…"

"Well, I think I know why the cloaked men are gathering in Nibelheim of all places," Zack said as the group walked away from the mumbling man. "They're nut jobs, just like the rest of this town." The group looked behind them and saw that Cait Sith wasn't among them.

"Hey…where's Cait Sith?" Tifa asked as she continued to look round for any sign of the cat.

"He was here a moment ago," Red answered he too was confused at how Cait Sith could disappear like that without anyone noticing.

"Yeah well…" Barret added as he pointed his gun arm in the air, "that fucking bastard had better show himself soon or we're leavin' without him!"

Zack remembered before they left North Corel he saw Cait Sith talking on a mobile, even though Zack couldn't hear what Cait Sith was saying into the phone he found it suspicious nevertheless. _"I wonder what he's doing this time," _Zack thought to himself trying to figure out why a cat would even need to talk on a mobile phone. _"It seems a little suspicious, I better keep an eye on him…"_

"Did I miss anything?" Cait Sith's voice could be heard, the group turned round and they saw Cait Sith perched on top of the giant pink Mog which bounded its way towards the group.

"Cait Sith, where have you been?" Aerith asked as the cat approached her, "we were so worried about you."

"Oh…I was errr…that is to say I was…just taking care of a few things lassie." Cait Sith answered hesitating slightly not wishing to let the group know of his true intentions. Zack however was glaring at Cait Sith and giving him a questioning stare, fortunately Cait Sith didn't even notice.

"Well, could you please let us know where you're going next time?" Cloud asked as he knelt down so that he was level with Cait Sith, "I'd like to keep track of everyone."

"Sure Cloud," Cait Sith replied even though deep down he was feeling a little edgy, he didn't want to have to tell Cloud what he was doing every time he made a phone call. He didn't want the leader of Avalanche to get suspicious, however Cait Sith didn't know that Zack was already suspicious of him but the drag human decided to keep quiet for now.

"Good," Cloud answered satisfied, he stood up again and he turned round to look at the mansion. A place he hoped he'd never had to see again, but there he was five years later looking at the very place where his life was drastically changed forever.

Zack walked up beside Cloud he too looking at the mansion and a feeling of dread surged through his heart. Like Cloud, Zack's life had been changed by certain events that occurred in the mansion and he couldn't help but feel even a little apprehensive about going into the mansion. "I guess this means we're going in huh…" Zack asked as he turned his head round to look at Cloud.

Cloud turned his head round to look at Zack, "yeah," Cloud answered as he nodded slowly, "Sephiroth's in there, I know he is, I can feel it."

"You nervous…" Zack questioned, thanks to his drag human abilities Zack was able to sense Cloud's feelings of apprehension at the thought of entering the mansion.

"I don't want to go into that mansion," Cloud admitted, "but if Sephiroth's in there…then…I have to end it, I don't care where Sephiroth goes, I'll be right behind him." Cloud turned round to face the group, "let's go," he ordered, the group walked through gate and entered the mansion. They found themselves in a large rectangular room with several doors leading to other rooms, there was a double staircase leading to the upstairs landing and a dusty chandelier hung from the ceiling. The room and indeed the mansion general bore evidence that it was once grand, but now it was derelict, the walls and the floor were caked with dust ad cobwebs were well hidden in the corners of the room. "SEPHIROTH!" Cloud's voice echoed through the vast hall, "WE KNOW YOU'RE HERE! SHOW YOURSELF!" Cloud listened hoping for an answer or some kind of response to let him know that Sephiroth was in the vicinity.

"Gee Cloud," Zack muttered sarcastically causing the ex SOLDIER to glare at him, "shout a little louder next time, I don't think the entire town heard you…"

"Alright everyone, spread out," Cloud ordered the group, "I want Sephiroth found," the group separated off with Barret, Red, Yuffie and Cait Sith searching downstairs while Zack, Aerith, Cloud and Tifa walked up the stairs. As soon as they reached the upstairs landing they turned left and entered a room with a safe in it.

"A safe…I wonder what's inside it," Aerith mused as Zack and Cloud examined the safe.

"Let's find out," Cloud replied as he examined the safe more closely, "it looks like you have to put a combination in to open the safe…nothing new there."

"The combination could be anything, we'll be here all day trying to figure it out," Zack complained causing Cloud to look up and glare at Zack.

"Alright then!" Cloud snapped at the drag human as he stood up and jabbed Zack's chest with his finger, "Let's see you do better smart ass!"

"Alright then, I will," Zack accepted Cloud's challenge as he stepped closer to the safe, "stand back, this could get a little messy," Zack warned as he detracted his claws and tried to dig them into the safe door only to find that his claws couldn't penetrate it. "Eh he…" Zack chuckled slightly as he turned round to find Aerith, Cloud and Tifa staring at him. "Let me try again," Zack tried to dig his claws into the safe over and over again, after numerous attempts Zack was forced to give up. "I don't understand it…why won't my claws cut into the safe?"

"You guys obviously have no experience when it comes to opening safes!" A familiar voice spoke up behind them, the group turned round and they saw Yuffie stood behind them leaning against the wall with her arms folded and a smug grin on her face.

"And you can do better can you?" Zack asked irritably as the young ninja laughed and walked towards the safe.

"Of course I can," Yuffie scoffed as she grinned at the drag human causing him to glare at her.

"I thought you were downstairs," Cloud stated wondering how Yuffie could sneak up behind them with them noticing.

"There wasn't really anything downstairs," Yuffie answered "so I decided to see how you guys were doing, good thing too, because you don't seem to be getting anywhere."

"We were…" Zack lied, "there was a slight complication…that's all…"

"That complication being that you couldn't cut open the safe with your claws," Yuffie replied seeing through Zack's obvious lie. "Well the safe is made out of reinforced titanium," Yuffie knelt down and began to examine the safe. "Hmmm…let's see…" she mused half to herself as she started to put in different combinations at random, after twenty minutes the safe was still tightly shut.

"Why don't me and Cloud search the rest of the mansion while we're waiting," Tifa suggested as she stared hopefully at Cloud.

"Errr…sure…" Cloud replied blankly as Tifa grabbed hold of his hand and dragged him out of the room to search the rest of the mansion.

"Such a cute couple," Aerith stated dreamily as she watched Cloud and Tifa walk off down the corridor.

"Yeah…if you say so Aerith…" Zack replied wondering why Aerith was so interested in Cloud and Tifa's love life. "How are you getting on with the safe Yuffie?" Zack asked quickly changing the subject as he and Aerith turned their attention back to the safe again.

"I just don't understand it…" Yuffie answered confused at why the combinations she tried didn't work "Looks like this calls for desperate measures," Yuffie pulled her bag off her back and she pulled a large drill out of her bag. Zack and Aerith just stood there and stared in shock as Yuffie used the drill on the safe's hinges, after about a minute the door fell off its hinges and landed on the floor with a loud clang.

"My safe opening kit," Yuffie informed Zack and Aerith as she turned her head round and grinned at them, "I never leave home without it, let's see what's in this thing…" Yuffie rummaged through the safe while Zack and Aerith continued to stare at her. "A key," Yuffie stated as she pulled a small, rusty key out of the safe and showed it to her team mates. "Looks a little rusty though, not sure what it's for. Here Zack, you better hold on to this," Yuffie said as she gave the key to Zack and resumed looking in the safe, "oooooohhhhhh!" Yuffie exclaimed as she spotted a red, glowing orb at the back of the safe. "A piece of materia!" Yuffie pulled her hand out of the safe and stood up, she was about to put the materia in her pocket but she seemed to think better of it, that and the fact that Zack and Aerith were glaring at her. "Hey, I was just kidding," Yuffie stated in a defensive tone, "here," she passed the materia to Aerith, "you better keep it seen as you're the official keeper of the materia."

"Thanks Yuffie that's very kind of you," Aerith replied gratefully as she looked at the materia, she saw a man clad in armour riding on a six legged horse running round inside the materia. _"Odin…the bringer of death," _Aerith thought to herself as she placed the powerful materia inside her pack with the other materia that wasn't currently being used by the group. "What do we do now?" Aerith asked as she stared hopefully at her team mates.

Before anyone could respond a low thudding sound could be heard from behind the trio, they looked up to see the chandelier above them shaking. "That can't be good…" Zack stated as he, Aerith and Yuffie withdrew their weapons and got into a fighting stance just in time to see a monster stomp round the corner towards the group. The monster was extremely large easily towering above the group, it had a very bizarre appearance the right side of the monster was a deep purple colour its lower right arm and lower right leg were tinged with green. The left side of the monster was a deep red colour and was lined with row up on row of sharp spikes, it stomped towards the group eyeing them with its bright yellow eyes.

"What the hell is that? Yuffie yelled casting a frightened look at the monster as she, Zack and Aerith took a few steps backwards.

"More than likely one of Hojo's experiments," Zack answered as he tried to make himself look more menacing, "This mansion's probably crawling with 'em." The monster roared loudly as it swept its tentacle like left arm horizontally hoping to knock the group out, fortunately they all ducked just in time the arm sweeping over their heads missing them completely. Yuffie and Zack quickly charged at the monster dodging to the side quickly to avoid being crushed by the giant arms while Aerith remained at the rear hitting it with every spell she could think of.

"Hey ugly!" Zack yelled causing the monster to turn its attention on him, "over here!" Zack continued to entice the beast as he turned round and waved his tail at it. The monster roared loudly as it raised its giant right hand up and slammed it down into the ground, the hand would've surely crushed Zack if the drag human hadn't have moved out of the way just in time, Zack whistled to get the monster's attention again and it continued to slam its arms awkwardly into the ground as Zack used his speed advantage over the monster. Yuffie saw her chance and while the monster was distracted she remembered the materia that Aerith had given her back in the Gi cave. She quickly took the glowing materia out of her pocket and attached it to her weapon, Yuffie watched as her weapon turned into a light shade of blue and encased itself in magical ice that was harder than diamonds. She charged at the monster holding her weapon out to the side of her, she leapt into the air dug her weapon deep into the monster's and slashed right up its back as she ran up it a column of ice rose up from the large wound causing extensive ice damage and freezing its back. Yuffie pushed off the monster's back and landed gracefully on the ground holding her weapon above her head.

The monster let out a pained roar as it slammed its arms into the ground, Zack saw an opportunity and leapt at the monster's arms. He landed on the monster's right hand and dug his claws into the flesh, he enchanted the tips of his claws with ice causing the monster even more pain and freezing its arms rendering it immobile. Zack leapt off the monster just as a stream of flames shot across the floor and Ifrift engulfed the monster in flames setting it alight, Ifrift flew round the monster once before returning to where Aerith was stood and disappeared.

"Nice move," Zack complimented Aerith as he gave her a thumbs up.

"Thanks," Aerith replied modestly as the Ifrift materia in her weapon stopped glowing, Aerith, Zack and Yuffie could hear a loud roar behind them as the monster was completely thawed out by Ifrift's attack, only it suffered extensive fire damage and its flesh was severely burned.

"Awww…what's the matter?" Zack continued to mock the monster as it shook itself off before preparing for another attack. "Was that a little to hot for your liking?"

"Zack stop mocking it!" Aerith yelled at Zack as she spun her staff round like a windmill to deflect a powerful lightning spell the monster had fired at her. The spell hit the staff and was reflected back at the monster electrocuting it, the monster stood there dazed for a few seconds before it glared at Aerith and charged at her with a loud roar.

"AERITH!" Zack yelled the Cetra's name as he saw the monster charge at Aerith with its giant fist pulled back ready to strike her. Zack ran towards Aerith hoping to get to her before the monster did.

"ZACK, AERITH!" Yuffie shouted as she saw the whole scene, time seeming to slow down all around her, "oh I can't watch…" Yuffie stated as she covered her face with her hands not daring to watch what happened next.

Aerith took a few steps back as she saw the monster running towards her, "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!" She screamed as she held her hands in front of her face in a futile attempt to defend herself from the incoming attack, but the attack never came. "Huh…" Aerith uttered confused that she hadn't been knocked into the back wall, she lowered her arms and opened her eyes to see Zack in front of her holding the monster's fist back. "Zack…" Aerith whispered hardly daring to believe it.

Zack said nothing but he continued to hold the monster's fist back his face was screaming concentration and determination as beads of sweat fell from his forehead and landed with soft plops on the floor near his feet. The monster's hand was larger than Zack himself and could've easily knocked him to the side like a bothersome fly, and yet neither Zack nor the monster had moved an inch since the monster's fists met with Zack's hands. Yuffie finally moved her hands from her face and watched with a nervous look on her face as both the monster and the drag human tried to force each other back. Zack closed his eyes as he focused all of his energy and strength into his arms, Zack opened his eyes again and gritted his teeth as he lifted the monster off ground with a sudden burst of strength.

"!" Zack let out a cry as he lifted the monster (still by the fist) above his head and started to swing it round and round going faster and faster before he let go of it causing it to crash head first into the safe effectively knocking it out.

Zack stood there in a half crouched position his tail lightly brushing the ground panting heavily, Aerith and Yuffie just stood there staring in awe but they soon snapped out of it when the monster came round. Aerith's bag began to glow and Aerith remembered that she put the Odin materia in there, she reached into her bag and pulled out the glowing materia before she equipped it with her weapon. Her staff glowed brightly as she summoned the horseman of death, a portal appeared a six legged white horse with an armoured clad man riding on top of it and holding a giant spear cantered out of the portal. The horseman stared at the monster with gleaming yellow eyes as the horse reared up, the horseman then looked up at the ceiling as he pulled the spear back and threw it high into the air, a portal opened up in the ceiling and the spear flew through it before it fell spear end first and impaled itself deep in the monster's chest, the monster roared in pain as blood oozed out of the giant wound in the middle of its chest a large puddle of blood forming at its feet staining the floor. The horseman disappeared into another portal as the monster fell to the floor dead, still impaled by the large spear.

The Odin materia in Aerith's staff stopped glowing as the spell finished, she looked behind her to see Zack still stood in the same spot breathing rapidly, "Zack!" She called out the drag human's name as she ran up to him, "are you ok?" She asked her voice was filled with concern.

"Yeah…" Zack answered exhausted from his sudden display of strength, "just a little knackered that's all…what about you?" He asked as he brought his arms up and placed them on Aerith's shoulders, "are you ok?"

Aerith nodded, "yeah," she replied as she smiled at Zack, "thanks to you, you were amazing back there." Zack chuckled slightly as he ruffled his already unruly hair.

"I'll say," Yuffie agreed with Aerith as she walked up to her friends, like Aerith and Zack she was battle worn but unharmed. "That was fucking amazing!" The ninja exclaimed ignoring the scowl that Aerith was giving her, "how did you do that?"

"I dunno," Zack answered as he looked down at his hands, "I saw that Aerith was in danger…it just…came to me…I can't think of any other way to explain it."

"Hmmm…maybe it's another effect from the experiments Hojo conducted on you," Aerith suggested helpfully trying to think of a way to explain it, "like your ability to turn invisible, remember at the Shinra building when you turned invisible to evade capture?" Zack nodded, "well you had a sudden surge of strength because you needed it at that time," Aerith continued to explain.

"So I can call on my strength at any time like I can with my invisibility?" Zack asked, Aerith nodded and Zack grinned as he felt his new found strength surge through his veins. "I'm starting to like this," Zack stated as he broke a lose beam in half with his foot.

"Come on," Yuffie spoke up growing bored of the conversation, "there's nothing else that's valuable in this room so let's get out of here and find the others," Zack and Aerith nodded in agreement as the three of them left the wrecked room and the impaled monster. The three of them walked across the landing to the other side, the entered a room that was slightly larger than the safe room and they saw everyone else gathered in the room.

"There you are," Cloud stated as Zack, Aerith and Yuffie entered the room still looking fatigued but unharmed, "what took you guys so long?"

"We opened the safe," Yuffie answered, "but a huge monster managed to sneak up on us, and Zack did this really cool thing where he lifted the monster above his head and swung it round!"

"You've gotta be shitting me!" Barret yelled as he stared at Zack unsure of whether to be impressed or sceptical. "I mean I know SOLDIERs are strong but I didn't think that they could lift up a monster over 100 times their size."

"It's true," Aerith replied agreeing with Yuffie, "I thought I was going to be struck by that thing for sure, but Zack blocked the punch."

"Hmmm…" Red mused, "Interesting, another effect from Hojo's experiments on you."

"That's what I said before," Aerith complained as she pouted at the red beast, "me being in trouble triggered it."

"Aerith, I'm glad that you, Zack and Yuffie are still alive," Cloud stated before anyone could say anything else, "but we came here to find Sephiroth so can we just get this over with?" Cloud started to pace round the room, "I'm sure it was around here somewhere," he whispered half to himself as he continued to pace round the room.

"This is the room from your story right?" Tifa asked Cloud as the blond haired man turned round to face her.

"Yeah," Cloud answered as he nodded.

"Didn't you say there was a secret entrance here?" Tifa continued to ask as Cloud continued to search the room.

"Yeah," Cloud answered again "but I can't seem to find it anywhere," Tifa leaned back against the wall as she unknowingly pushed a loose stone into the wall, a low rumbling sound could be heard the group turned to their left to see the stones on the wall rearrange themselves to reveal a large hole leading to a long, winding staircase. The group walked towards the staircase and took a closer look, "seems like a long way down," Cloud stated as he peered over the stairs to get a better look, "I wonder if anything's changed down in the basement…probably not."

"Basement…" Yuffie repeated what Cloud had said, "oh no…" she said defiantly as she stepped back from the stairs, "no way am I going down into a dingy basement."

"You scared…" Zack asked in a patronising tone smirking as Yuffie glared at him.

"No!" Yuffie snapped defensively as she folded her arms, "I just don't like the idea of wandering round a basement looking for a sword wielding maniac."

"Well I'm going down there," Cloud stated ignoring Zack and Yuffie's comments, he was about to walk down the steps when a strong hand reached out and grabbed him, Cloud turned round and saw Zack stood behind him with his hand on Cloud's shoulder.

"Whoa hold it! You're not thinking of going down there by yourself are you?" Zack questioned as he gave Cloud a questioning stare.

"I have to find Sephiroth," Cloud answered calmly, now that he had a plan in mind he wasn't feeling as nervous about the whole thing, "It ends here."

"I understand how you feel Cloud," the drag human replied sympathetically as he let go of Cloud's shoulder, "but think about it, this mansion has been abandoned for quite some time now. I don't think Sephiroth will be the only monster down there."

"So what, you're saying that you want to come with me?" Cloud asked a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"I thought you'd never ask," Zack stated happily not seeming to get the sarcasm in Cloud's voice.

"That's not what I meant…" Cloud back tracked shaking his head, but Zack had already started walking down the steps, "hey!" Cloud yelled after the drag human, "wait for me!" He started to run down the stairs then he remembered the rest of his friends, "me and Zack are gonna go to the basement and find Sephiroth," he informed the group as he stopped and turned to face them. "We could be a while so stay here and keep watch."

"Ok Cloud," Tifa stated, "we'll take care of things here," Cloud nodded and he took off down the stairs to catch up to Zack.

Zack was already at the bottom leaning against the jagged, damp wall with his arms folded and his eyes closed when Cloud finally caught up, Zack opened one eye and grinned when he saw Cloud stood next to him resting one hand against the wall with his head hung low and breathing heavily. "You took your time," Zack stated slyly as Cloud looked up and glared at the drag human, "I was starting to get bored waiting for you."

"Not…funny…" Cloud muttered between breaths still glaring at Zack, Zack merely laughed as he opened his other eye and gave Cloud an amused look causing the ex SOLDIER to become more agitated.

"Funny…" Zack continued to goad Cloud, "I thought SOLDIERs were supposed to be fit, you really let yourself go."

"Zack…my sword is on my back…" Cloud hissed threateningly as he grabbed the handle of his sword with his hand and glared at the drag human.

"Relax Cloud, I was just kidding," Zack said quickly as he eyed Cloud's sword nervously, "man you're so easy to wind up."

Cloud shook his head as he gave Zack a sharp dig in the stomach, "come on!" He snapped sharply as he started to walk down the cave like corridor, Zack rubbed the area where Cloud hit him before he ran after his friend to catch up to him. The two men continued to walk down the corridor trying to be as quiet as they could so not to alert the many bats that hung from the ceiling of their presence. Cloud and Zack came round a corner and they spotted a rust eaten door to the left, the two men came to a stop in front of the door. "I've never noticed this door before," Cloud stated as he examined the door, he grabbed hold of the door handle and tried to open the door. "Damn it!" Cloud yelled as he pulled the door handle again, "it won't open!"

Zack continued to watch Cloud as the ex SOLDIER struggled to open the rust covered door, the drag human shifted his weight from foot to foot and opened and closed his wings while he still watched Cloud with great amusement. "Hmmm…" Zack thought out loud as he remembered the key that Yuffie had given him.

"Zack!" Cloud yelled irritably as he let go of the door handle and glared at his friend, "are you gonna help me or are you gonna just stand there with that smug grin on your ugly mother fucking face?"

"There's no need to get offensive," Zack retorted as he gave Cloud an offended look and walked towards the door. "If you must know, I had an idea," he continued as he took the rusty key out of his pocket to show Cloud as the ex SOLDIER stared at the key, his eyes were wide with shock.

"Where…the hell…did you get that?" Cloud stuttered hardly daring to believe that Zack was holding what could be the key to the room.

"From the safe," Zack answered as he continued to wave the key in Cloud's face, "we managed to get it open after you and Tifa left."

"You think that key will open the door…" Cloud asked as he gave Zack a hopeful look.

Zack smirked at the ex SOLDIER, "only one way to find out," he replied as he put the key in the lock and turned the key to the left but the door still refused to open. "Odd…" Zack stated as he tried to force the door open. "I thought the key would've worked."

"Have you tried turning it the other way?" Cloud asked as he gestured to the right with his hand, "that might help…" He muttered as an after thought as he shook his head.

Zack looked down at the key, "oh…" he stated as realisation hit him, he turned the key to the right and pushed down on the handle and much to both Zack and Cloud's relief the door opened with a loud creak. "They could've greased the door a little though don't you think?" Zack asked as he and Cloud entered the room, Cloud didn't answer rather the two men looked round the moderately sized rectangular room. They saw much to their surprise coffins leaning against the wall, all of them were open and the skeletal remains of bodies that were buried there hung out of the coffins. "I know this mansion has its dark secrets," Zack spoke up his voice carrying in the coffin filled room, "but this is just sick." Cloud said nothing and the two men continued to search the room, they found one coffin lying in the centre of the room unlike the others the lid on this coffin was on, Cloud and Zack stood at the foot of the coffin and started to examine it.

"Wait...this coffin looks familiar to me..." Zack told Cloud.

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked as he gave Zack a suspicious stare.

"Err...nothing..." Zack answered as he realised he almost blew it. "I mean you see one coffin you see 'em all right?"

"Yeah, I guess they all do look alike," Cloud stated in agreement. "There's nothing of value in here, let's go," Cloud added as he and Zack turned round and started to make their way back to the door.

"To wake me from the nightmare…" a deep voice echoed throughout the room causing Cloud and Zack to stop and look around for the source of the voice before looking back at the coffin to see that the lid had been pushed off. Zack and Cloud ran back to the coffin and looked inside it to see a dark haired man with a red cape draped over a black uniform, the man's eyes fluttered open to reveal blood red irises. "Who is it?" He asked as he slowly sat up and stared sleepily at the two men.

"Ok…I'll give you a ten for effort, but a zero for creepiness," Zack stated once he had gotten over the shock of someone being alive in the coffin.

The man in the coffin glared at Zack, "where as you on the other hand, you're just creepy beyond all reason," the man retorted not taking his eyes off the drag human.

"Hey!" Zack snapped as he placed his hands on his hips and bared his teeth at the man, his tail twitched irritably from side to side, the man in the coffin gave Zack a satisfied smile.

"Hmmm…come to think of it," the man added as an after thought taking great pleasure in seeing the scowl on Zack's face, "you're not creepy at all…you're just butt ugly." Zack growled menacingly at the man but that just caused him to laugh, "I've never seen you two around here before," he said quickly before Zack had chance to think of a comeback. "You must leave."

"You were having a nightmare…" Cloud questioned wondering what the man meant when he said to awaken him from a nightmare.

"No wonder, sleeping in a place like this," Zack added as he spun round in a circle and gestured with his arms at the coffins round the room. "With nothing but rotting corpses for company, this place is enough to give anyone nightmares," he stopped and he faced the man again.

"I think this coffin is quite comfortable actually," the dark man retorted as he folded his arms and glared at Zack.

"I beg to differ," Zack argued back glaring into the man's red eyes with his own yellow eyes and for a while the man and the drag human were stood there staring each other down, however one look from Cloud was enough to make Zack drop it.

"My long sleep has given me time to atone," the man continued completely ignoring the sarcastic comments Zack had made earlier.

"Atone…" Cloud repeated the last word the man had said, he looked at Zack who merely shrugged in response so Cloud turned back to face the man. "What do you mean by atone?" Cloud asked a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"I have nothing to say to strangers!" The man snapped at Cloud and Zack, "get out! This mansion is just the beginning of your worst nightmares."

Zack and Cloud exchanged awkward glances with each other, both knew of the dark secrets that the mansion held and an unspoken knowledge passed between them. "Tell us something we don't know," Zack spoke up finally breaking the awkward silence.

"Hmmm…interesting," the man mused obviously intrigued, "tell me what you know," he requested as he looked expectantly at Cloud and Zack, Cloud and Zack looked at each other before Zack prompted Cloud to explain.

"Well like you said before this mansion is the beginning of our worst nightmare," Cloud started to explain as Zack nodded in agreement. "No, it's not a dream, it's for real." Cloud looked at Zack wondering if he had given too much away but the drag human merely nodded prompting Cloud to continue with his explanation. "Sephiroth has lost his mind," Cloud continued with his explanation, "he found the secrets hidden in this mansion…"

"Sephiroth!" The man yelled the silver haired man's name causing Cloud and Zack to jump back in shock.

"You know Sephiroth?" The three men asked at the same time as they continued to stare at each other, the man in the coffin stood up, he stared at Zack and Cloud for a couple more seconds before he back flipped slowly out of the coffin. He landed gracefully on the edge of the coffin and stood there perfectly balanced.

"You first," the man requested as he stood there in silence and listened as Cloud explained everything that had happened, from going to the reactor with Sephiroth, to Sephiroth reading books in the basement library, to Sephiroth going off the rails and setting the town on fire.

"That's how it was…" Cloud stated when he had finished with his explanation, the man was still stood on the edge of the coffin with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Hmmm…so Sephiroth knows that he was created five years ago," the man mused as he repeated the important parts of Cloud's explanation. "And about the Jenova Project? He was missing and had just recently reappeared, he has taken many lives and is seeking the promised land…"

Zack and Cloud nodded as they gave the man expectant stares, "ok, now it's your turn," Zack replied as he gave the man the gesture to go ahead.

"Sorry," the man apologised as he shook his head, "I can not speak."

"…WHAT?" Zack yelled at the top of his lungs out raged that the man refused to share his knowledge, "we told you everything you wanted to know, now tell us what we want to know!" Zack demanded as his claws sprang out of the slits in his gloves out of sheer frustration, the man however wasn't scared.

"Zack…it doesn't matter," Cloud spoke up as he grabbed Zack by the back of his shirt in an effort to hold him back so that he didn't attack the man.

"You told him everything we knew!" Zack snapped as he struggled against Cloud's grip, "the least he could do is return the favour!"

"Hmmm…" the man thought calmly as he hung his head solemnly, "is that what you think? Well hearing your story has placed upon me another sin," the man stated sadly, "more nightmares will come to me now, more than I previously had." Cloud released his hold on Zack as the man stepped back inside the coffin and lay back down again, "now…please leave," the man added, he was about to close the lid when a hand reached out and grabbed the lid preventing it from closing, the man looked up to see Cloud and Zack stood round the sides of the coffin, Zack was holding the lid up with his hand.

"Ok, so you're not gonna give us any information and we respect that," Cloud spoke up as Zack nodded in agreement, "but could you at least tell us your name?"

The man sighed as he slowly sat up again, "I was with…" the man reluctantly began to explain, "the Shinra Manufacturing Department in Administrative Research…Otherwise known as the Turks…" The man fell silent for a few seconds, "Vincent," he finally told them his name.

"The Turks?" Cloud and Zack repeated what Vincent had said shocked by this new information.

"Formally of the Turks," Vincent corrected them, "I have no affiliation with the Shinra now."

"I'm Cloud, formally of SOLDIER," Cloud introduced himself, "and this is my friend Zack, he had a few affiliations with the Shinra too."

"You were also with the Shinra?" Vincent asked curiously not taking his eyes off Cloud and Zack, "tell me, do you know Lucrecia?" He asked as Cloud and Zack gave Vincent confused stares.

"Come again?" Zack asked voicing his and Cloud's confusion out loud.

"Lucrecia," Vincent repeated the name hoping that Cloud and Zack would recognise the name but they still gave Vincent confused stares, Vincent sighed irritably, "the woman who gave birth to Sephiroth," he informed them.

"Gave birth…" Cloud questioned unsure of what he had heard, "I thought Jenova was Sephiroth's mother."

"That isn't completely wrong," Vincent answered choosing his words carefully, "but just a theory, he was born to a beautiful lady," Vincent explained with a hint of admiration in his voice for the mysterious woman. "That lady's name was Lucrecia, she was an assistant of Professor Gast in the Jenova Project, beautiful Lucrecia…"

"You mean she was a human experiment…" Zack asked as he gave Vincent a shocked stare, he had heard of the Jenova Project before and he knew that it wasn't a good thing.

Vincent looked away sadly, "there was no way to cancel the experiment," he continued with his tale, "I couldn't stop her…That was my sin…" Vincent revealed as he balled his hand into a fist and shook it, "I let the one I loved, the one I respected most, face the worst…"

"And you punished yourself by sleeping in a coffin…" Zack questioned giving Vincent a strange look, "Talk about morbid…" Vincent said nothing, he lay back down and closed the lid of his coffin refusing to speak. Cloud and Zack left the room and continued to walk down the corridor. They passed several doors on either side of them, each door leading to a different part of the basement.

They eventually arrived at door at the end of the corridor, Cloud pushed the door open and Zack and Cloud slowly entered the room. They looked around and found themselves in the room from Cloud's story, to the left of the room was a large library, the shelves were filled with countless books and there was a passageway leading to another room. To the right side of the room was a small lab, Cloud and Zack didn't have time to see the lab in great detail as they heard the sound of laughter behind them. The two men turned round and slowly walked to the edge of the passageway where they saw Sephiroth stood on the other side of it.

"Sephiroth…" Cloud muttered under his breath as he glared at the man who had ruined his life.

"Being here brings back so many memories," Sephiroth stated as he grinned evilly at Cloud and Zack, "are you both going to participate in the reunion?" He asked curiously.

"Reunion…" Zack repeated confused at Sephiroth's words and it became obvious to Zack that Sephiroth had indeed lost his mind. "What kind of reunion?" Zack questioned growing ever more suspicious of Sephiroth's motives.

"Jenova will be there," Sephiroth explained as his grin grew wider, "Jenova will rejoin the reunion becoming a calamity from the skies!" Sephiroth uttered the last part a little louder and raised his arms in the air.

"Jenova…a calamity from the skies…" Cloud repeated in a worried tone, "You mean...Jenova wasn't an Ancient…"

"Whatever that thing was," Zack added, he too was worried about Sephiroth's plans, "it brought pain and suffering to the planet, Cloud, we can't let it happen again." Cloud nodded as he and Zack continued to stare at Sephiroth.

"I see…" Sephiroth stated as he glared at Cloud and Zack, angry at their betrayal, "I don't think you two have the right to participate. I will go North passed Mount Nibel," Sephiroth informed them, "If you wish to find out…then follow."

"Reunion…calamity from the skies…" Cloud repeated the two ideas over and over again, he was so wrapped up in his train of thought that he didn't notice that Sephiroth had thrown a piece of materia at him. Fortunately Zack saw it coming a mile off, the drag human leapt in front of Cloud and caught the materia in his hand.

"I think you're losing your touch Sephiroth," Zack scoffed as he threw the materia up and down while grinning at Sephiroth, "looks like you need to work on your aim."

Humph…farewell," Sephiroth responded as he hovered in the air momentarily before he zoomed passed Cloud and Zack and disappeared from sight, Cloud and Zack looked at each other as Zack put the piece of materia in his pocket.

"He said he was heading north," Cloud stated as he made his way towards the door, "we have to get back to the others and tell them, let's go Zack…Zack?" Cloud turned round and he saw that the drag human wasn't behind him, he turned to his left and he saw Zack walking slowly to the lab side of the room, his eyes were focused and he carried on walking as though he was drawn to something.

Zack stopped near a large cylinder shaped tube made out of solid glass, he examined the tube and he knelt down to see a metal plaque on the tube. "Experiment A, Code Z…" Zack read the inscription on the plaque as he ran a clawed finger over the writing, he stood up and continued to examine the tube, he saw another inscription right on the glass itself, he took a closer look at the marks and ran his clawed finger along them. _"These marks were scratched on from the inside," _he thought to himself, he took a closer look at the markings and he saw that those markings were in fact a message. "Feeding time…that's our chance…" Zack read the message again and his eyes grew wide with realisation, Zack's head began to pound, he grabbed hold of it and knelt down as he saw images of a message being scribed into the thick glass by fingernails.

When the images subsided Zack staggered slowly to his feet and stared at the tube again, his eyes narrowed in anger and he growled under his breath as he balled his hands into fists. The hairs on the back of his neck bristled and his tail stood straight out behind him, Zack's body violently shook as he continued to stand there staring at the tube. "!" Zack let out a yell as he ran at the tube pulling one of his clawed hands back as he ran. As Zack approached the tube he thrust his clawed hand forwards and dug his claws deep into the glass, cracks slowly appeared in the glass round the area where Zack had dug his claws in.

Zack growled under his breath again as the spear at the end of his tail opened up, Zack swung his deadly tail round and the open spear end struck the glass causing it to completely shatter, shards of glass scattered everywhere. Zack pulled his clawed hand back and arched his back slightly so that his tail was curling up slightly pointing in the air. The drag human stared at the damaged tube to see that the metal frame was still standing, with a yell he ran towards the metal frame of the tube and ripped the plaque off the bottom of the tube. With all his newfound strength Zack bent and crushed the plaque until it formed the shape of a misshapen ball, the writing on the tube was barely readable, he then threw the now distorted plaque over his shoulder with such a force that it travelled easily to the other side of the room at the speed of a bullet.

Cloud quickly ducked and the twisted plaque zoomed over Cloud's head and crashed into the book shelf causing several books to fall on to the floor. Cloud slowly stood up and continued to stare in bewilderment at the destruction he was seeing before him. "Errr…Zack…" Cloud spoke up nervously hoping to talk some sense into his friend, but the drag human wasn't in a listening mood and much to Cloud's shock Zack was attacking the solid metal frame of the tube already causing several dents in it.

Zack continued to pound and claw away at the metal frame until it couldn't take any more of the violent onslaught it was receiving and it crumbled to the floor with a loud crash. Zack stared at the mangled heap lying on the floor in front of him, he was breathing deeply as he felt the rage within him start to subside and he felt a little calmer now that he had released a lot of pent up frustration and a great weight was lifted off his shoulders. "You were human once, weren't you?" A deep voice asked suddenly, Zack turned round and he saw Vincent standing behind him looking as solemn as ever.

Zack nodded, "yeah…" he answered half sadly and half angrily, he was still too angry to be shocked at Vincent's uncanny ability to suddenly appear. "It's seems like a life time ago now…"

"Hmmm…" Vincent uttered as he stepped closer to Zack and started to examine him, "Hojo's work no doubt," he stated as Zack stared at him in shock.

"How did you know?" He asked getting more and more creeped out at Vincent by the second, Vincent chuckled slightly as he paced round Zack.

"It seems that we have more in common than I first thought," Vincent answered, "I too have suffered at the hands of Hojo," Vincent added a hint of sadness in his voice.

"He turned you into a monster too?" Zack asked as he gave Vincent a sympathetic look.

Vincent nodded, "yes," he answered darkly, "all of Hojo's victims become monsters in the end."

"I know how that feels," Zack added as he nodded in agreement, he turned away from Vincent and rested his head on the undamaged tube. "A part of me still feels human," Zack started to explain sadness could be heard in his voice, he lifted his head up slightly and he smiled ruefully at Vincent, "I know it sounds crazy," Zack added as he chuckled nervously, "but, I know that I'm not fully human…and…I think to myself, will I ever be fully human again?" Zack let out a sigh as he rested his head on the undamaged tube again and closed his eyes.

"Hmmm…" Vincent uttered as he thought carefully about the situation not taking his eyes off Zack, "yeah…it just might work…"

Zack's eyes fluttered open when he heard those words, he lifted his head up and he turned round to stare at Vincent. "What would work?" He questioned.

"Hmmm…" Vincent responded trying to think of the best way to explain it, "let me put it this way, if there was a chance that you could attain your human form, would you take it?" Vincent questioned as Zack took a few steps towards Vincent.

"I…I guess so…" Zack answered not sure whether to believe what Vincent was saying.

"There is no guess so, about it," Vincent responded a little irritably, "will you take the chance, or not?"

Zack thought for a while about what Vincent was saying, on the one hand he was being tossed a life line, a chance to become human again, a chance to be with Aerith and not be ashamed of what he was, what he had become. But on the other hand he couldn't help but feel a little sceptical, he had only known Vincent for a couple of minutes and he couldn't help but think that maybe it was just a prank. _"We found the guy sleeping in a coffin…" _Zack thought to himself as he looked Vincent up and down, and he felt the piercing stare from the man's crimson coloured eyes burn his very soul and it was at that moment that Zack knew how serious Vincent was. "You're serious…" Was all he managed to utter.

Vincent nodded, "I'm deadly serious," he answered not taking his eyes off Zack, "I can help you become human again, Zack. But it will require a lot of training."

"And you're willing to train me…" Zack asked not daring to believe what he was hearing.

Vincent nodded again, "of course, I'm willing to help a victim of Hojo's…you and Cloud said that you were after Sephiroth right?" Zack nodded. "You'll be after Hojo too right?"

"Yeah," Zack answered, "I have a score to settle with Hojo."

"Hojo…" Vincent cursed the name under his breath as he turned away from Zack and clenched his hand into a fist and shook it. After a few seconds he calmed down and faced Zack again, "then it's decided, I'm coming with you, I'll train you and I'll kill Hojo when I find him." Zack nodded to show that he understood and the two made their way back to Cloud who was waiting near the door still with a confused expression on his face.

"Need I ask what all that was about back there…" Cloud questioned as he pointed at the remains of the tube at the other side of the room.

"Just letting off some steam," Zack answered vaguely as he, Cloud and Vincent left the room and started to walk down the corridor to the stairs. "But I feel a whole lot better now."

"I'm glad," Cloud answered still confused at why Zack destroyed a piece of lab equipment like that for no apparent reason. "But did you really have to do that?"

"Yes," Zack answered quickly, "oh and Vincent decided that he was gonna join us," Zack stated quickly changing the subject.

"I was wondering what you were discussing," Cloud stated as he turned round to look at Vincent, "but how are you gonna fight without a weapon?" Cloud asked Vincent, Vincent grunted in response and he pulled his cape back to reveal a holster attached to his belt with a handgun in it. "I guess we won't have to worry about buying you a weapon in the not too distant future…" Without another word, Zack, Cloud and Vincent made their way back to the spiral staircase and climbed up the steps back to the room where everyone was waiting.

"There you are!" Aerith exclaimed as she ran up to Zack and leapt into his arms hugging him, "we were so worried about you."

"Yeah," Tifa as she walked slowly up to Cloud and wrapped her arms round his neck, "what took you so long?"

"We had some things to take care of…mainly Sephiroth," Zack answered vaguely being careful not to mention the fact that he had destroyed what may have been an extremely expensive piece of equipment.

"All this time…" Aerith asked as she gave Zack a questioning look, Zack nodded and he gestured behind him, it was at that moment that the group had noticed Vincent for the first time.

"Who the fuck is that creep?" Yuffie asked not bothering to keep her voice down, Vincent took a few steps towards Yuffie sweeping his cape to the side and he removed the handgun from its holster. With one swift movement Vincent was directly in front of Yuffie holding the gun to her head.

"My name is Vincent," the dark man hissed in Yuffie's ear causing the ninja to shake out of fear, Vincent didn't bother to hide the offence in his tone. "Vincent Valentine and you'll refer to me as such in the future, do you understand?" He asked as he pressed the gun barrel harder into her head.

Yuffie nodded frantically, "yes…" she answered in a small frightened tone, "I understand…"

"Good," Vincent replied in a satisfied tone as he moved his gun away from Yuffie's head, he spun the gun round with a quick flick of his wrist before he put it back in his holster. He took a few steps away from Yuffie as the other members of the group stared at him in awe.

"Damn! We've known the guy for what…a minute...and already he can keep Yuffie in line!" Barret exclaimed as he gave Yuffie an evil grin. "I'm starting to like this guy."

"Hey!" Yuffie yelled at the top of her lungs placing her hands on her hips as she glared at Barret, the man with the gun arm just ignored her.

"Come on," Tifa said trying hard not to laugh at the expression on Yuffie's face, she released her hold on Cloud and she walked to the centre of the room smiling at the group. "Let's get out of here, the amount of time we spent in this place, it'll probably be nightfall."

"If that is the case, I think it would be best that we go to the inn and rest," Red suggested helpfully as Tifa stroked the beast behind the ears.

"Do you think they'll let us stay?" Aerith asked as she stared intently at Tifa and Red.

"Well, after the performance in the town square I'd be very surprised if they let us stay, eh Cloud…" Zack added smirking at Cloud causing the latter to scowl at him, he opened his mouth to speak but Tifa got there before him.

"Come on," Tifa said again a little flirtatiously as she stood behind Cloud and wrapped her arms round his neck again. "I mean you found Sephiroth right…"

Cloud nodded, "yeah," he answered forgetting about what Zack had said, "he said that he was going north…whatever the hell that meant?"

"So he's moved on, which means, we don't have to stay in this mansion for much longer, right…" Tifa continued to ask as she rubbed a finger round the back of Cloud's ear causing the man to chuckle slightly.

"I guess so…" Cloud answered in between chuckles, Tifa stopped rubbing the back of Cloud's ear and she removed her hands from behind his neck. "Let's get out of here," Cloud commanded as the group left the room and made their way out of the mansion.

It was indeed nightfall when the group walked out of the mansion and back into town, the cloaked men had long since disappeared and the shops were in the process of being shut up for the night, no one paid the group any more heed as they entered the inn to book a room for the night. Fortunately the inn was virtually empty and the inn keeper wasn't aware of the incident that had occurred earlier and the group were able to get a room no problem. They walked up the stairs to their room and after choosing their beds the group fell asleep pretty much straight away.

"No…" Zack moaned tossing and turning in his sleep as he was plagued by more nightmares, "please no…"

"_Sephiroth!" _Zack found himself yelling as he held his sword at the silver haired man's throat, _"What the fuck did you do that for?"_

"_Z…Zack…what are they gonna do to us?" _Cloud's frightened voice echoed in Zack's head as the drag human continued to toss and turn subconsciously clawing at his pillow with his outstretched claws. _"I…I'm scared…"_

"_Don't worry Cloud, I won't let them harm you."_

"_Z…Zack…Don't let them take me again! I can't take it anymore!"_

"_Hojo you sick bastard! What the hell did you do to him?"_

"_Now Zack," _Hojo's high pitched voice cut through Zack's head like a dentist drill, _"this will hurt…a lot…ha, ha, ha!" _Zack saw the evil man give him a sinister grin as he felt a needle being jabbed into his arm.

"_!" _Zack heard himself yell before he woke up in a cold sweat. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh…" Zack cried out as he quickly sat up and looked around him breathing deeply. "It was…just a dream…" Zack whispered as he let out a sigh of relief, he looked behind him and saw slash marks on the pillow, Zack sighed again as he covered his face with his hands and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "When will it stop?" Zack asked himself, "When will the nightmare end?" Zack looked over to his left and he saw Aerith lying in the bed next to his fast asleep, he threw the covers off him and reached for his shirt that was hanging over the bed post, he put his shirt and boots on and started to walk to the other side of the room. He stopped by Aerith's bed and stroked her face gently with a finger before he walked over to the window and opened it. He slowly opened the window being careful not to wake any of his friends up, he peered out of the window and looked out.

The sun had long since set and the moon and the stars illuminated the night sky, Zack climbed out of the window, he looked around one more time before he opened his wings and took off flying high over the dimly lit town, he flew in front of the moon causing his silhouette to appear on the ground as he flew. After a couple of minutes he left the town and he saw the shadowy form of the buggy they were using near the entrance to the town and he wondered if they would ever need the buggy beyond that point. Zack flew a little further on when he saw a lone figure leaning against a tree on a small hill, Zack flew closer to the hill and landed a few feet behind the man. Zack closed his wings as he came up to the man and he was surprised to discover that it was Vincent. "Vincent…" Zack stated in surprise as Vincent turned round to look at Zack, "What are you doing here?" Zack asked, "I thought you would've been asleep."

"I've had 30 years worth of sleep," Vincent answered not moving from his spot, "I don't need anymore sleep, unless of course I wanted to be plagued by more nightmares." Vincent then smiled weakly at Zack, "I could ask you the same question."

"I couldn't sleep either," Zack answered as he leaned on the tree next to Vincent, "Just coming back here…it brings back a lot of memories."

"I know what you mean," Vincent stated as he nodded in agreement, "this whole town has been nothing but a nightmare to me."

"Hey Vincent…about what you said before in the mansion…" Zack started to ask as Vincent stared at him with his blood red eyes.

"What about it?" Vincent questioned.

"Well…can you really help me to become human again?" Zack asked as he gave Vincent a hopeful look with his own yellow eyes.

"That, and much more," Vincent answered as he pushed himself off the tree and walked to the edge of the hill. "Zack…I'm going to be honest with you, there is no easy way for you to become human again. It takes quite a lot of training."

"I know," Zack replied as he pushed himself off the tree and stood next to Vincent at the edge of the hill. "How long will it take?"

"Could take weeks, months, even years," Vincent answered truthfully, "I don't know, but the question is, will you be able to handle the training?" Vincent asked as he gave Zack a questioning look.

Zack thought about it for a while, "Yeah," he finally answered nodding his head, "I can handle it."

Vincent grinned at the drag human, "good," he replied as he patted Zack on the shoulder before he walked back towards the tree, "then let's begin."

"Whoa!" Zack yelled out in shock at what Vincent had said, "You want to begin training…right now?" He questioned as Vincent nodded.

"No time like the present," the dark man answered as Zack walked back towards him still staring at him in shock. "Unless of course, you just want to go to sleep," Vincent added as Zack shook his head vigorously.

"Nah," Zack answered as he took a brief glance at the town before turning back to face Vincent. "I can't sleep anyway, besides, if I do go back Tifa would just use me to cook everyone's breakfast in the morning." Vincent raised an eyebrow when he heard the last part, "I breathe fire in my sleep," Zack started to explain, "I think it's because of the experiments that were conducted on me. I don't really know why I breathe fire at night, but it doesn't stop Tifa from using it to her advantage."

"Hmmm…" Vincent thought as he took on board what Zack was saying, "Tell me Zack, when Hojo was conducting those experiments on you, did he inject something into you?" Vincent asked gravely half knowing the answer.

Zack folded his arms and closed his eyes as he thought carefully about how he was going to answer, he saw an image of a strange green coloured liquid in a syringe. "Come to think of it," Zack started to answer as he opened his eyes again, "I do remember this strange liquid being injected into me, it looked like Mako, and it smelt like Mako too. But I knew that it wasn't just Mako…and it wasn't Jenova cells either…it was…something else."

"Dragon DNA," Vincent answered, Zack stared at Vincent as if to say why would Hojo inject dragon DNA into me. "Dragons are among the toughest creatures to slay," Vincent explained to clear things up for Zack. "Their skin is harder than diamonds, their claws can cut through almost anything and their flames can turn a full grown adult human into ash as soon as they lay their eyes on them."

"But why would Hojo inject dragon DNA into me?" Zack asked the dreaded question.

"My guess is he wanted to find new ways to create the ultimate soldier," Vincent theorised as his eyes continued to scan Zack. "And you, were the prototype," Vincent stated as he pointed at Zack.

"The prototype…" Zack repeated the last word Vincent had said, _"Is it possible that the experiments Hojo was conducting on me in the Shinra building were nothing to do with the Jenova Project?" _Zack thought to himself, _"If so, then what was it to do with?"_

"You're the first of a new breed of soldier," Vincent replied as he nodded his head, "but anyway…" he quickly changed the subject. "The reason why you're breathing fire in your sleep is because your fire lung is open, but I could teach you how to keep it closed," Vincent offered, "that way, you won't feel like Tifa is exploiting you." Zack laughed slightly as Vincent gave him a serious look, "this is serious," he stated darkly and Zack fell silent, "Now, close your eyes and concentrate." Zack closed his eyes and listened to Vincent's voice, "now, clear your mind," Vincent instructed Zack, "focus all your energy into closing your fire lung, breath deeply, relax, but maintain your focus." Zack focused all his energy into closing his fire lung, it wasn't an easy task as Zack kept letting his mind wander, but after an hour he had finally managed to close his fire lung.

"Very good," Vincent complimented Zack as the drag human opened his eyes, "now we'll move on to the next thing, I've watched you destroy that tube in the basement with great interest," Vincent informed Zack as he paced round the drag human. "Your technique is…crude, but nevertheless it gets the job done."

"Crude…" Zack repeated as he looked down at his hands.

"I can help you improve your technique," Vincent told Zack.

"But, you use a gun," Zack stated as he pointed at the holster attached to Vincent's belt, "won't that give you an unfair advantage?"

Vincent grinned, "Who said anything about using a gun…" Vincent answered as his gaze met Zack's again, "we're going to do this session claw to claw." At these words a blood red aura surrounded Vincent and he hovered in the air slightly as his features began to change. The pupils in his eyes changed to slits and his black hair became more wild and unruly and changed to a ghostly white colour, his face twisted as it became longer and more animal like, purple fur began to cover his whole body and a long tail lashed from side to side as the red aura disappeared and Vincent in his beast form landed perfectly on both his feet.

"Vincent…" Zack asked as he stared at the beast in shock, Vincent opened his eyes and stared at the drag human.

"This is my Galian Beast form," Vincent answered in a much deeper voice than normal, (**A/N, yes Vincent can talk when he's in one of his beast forms, but his voice goes deeper.**) "This is one of several forms that I have."

"Several…" Zack questioned, wondering how there could be more than one monster living inside one person.

"Yes," Vincent answered as he nodded his beast like head, "this was the form I commonly used before I locked myself in that coffin. I can change my form at will, and in time, you can change between your human form and your drag human form. But for now, let's improve on your attacking techniques." Zack hardly had chance to get into a fighting stance when Vincent charged at him without warning and Zack just barely managed to block Vincent forcing him back slightly.

"What the hell?" Zack demanded as he stared at Vincent in shock, "what the hell did you do that for?"

"Do you think your enemies will wait until you're ready?" Vincent asked as he and Zack began to pace round each other, "Do you think they'd sit around and wait for you to prepare yourself?"

"I know that!" Zack snapped at Vincent, "I was in SOLDIER before I was forced to become one of Hojo's guinea pigs."

"Then you'll know better than anyone that you're enemies normally aim to kill and they show no mercy," Vincent retorted gruffly as he got into a fighting stance, "come on, show me what you've got." Zack hesitated for a few seconds before he charged at Vincent, his clawed hands thrust out in front of him aiming to dig deep into Vincent's flesh. Vincent side stepped out of the way grabbed hold of both Zack's arms, twisted them behind the drag human's back and held them there causing Zack to wince in pain.

"You call that an attack?" Vincent hissed in Zack's ear, "you can do a lot better than that, now come on!" Vincent released Zack's arms and pushed him away causing the drag human to stumble slightly, "Stop trying to hit me and hit me!" Vincent yelled as he spread his muscular arms out. (**A/N, I don't actually own this line, it's a quote from The Matrix where Morphius is training Neo.**)

"I'm trying!" Zack yelled as he regained his balance and turned round to face Vincent, "but you're not exactly making it easy, I thought this was a training session!"

"It is a training session," Vincent answered still in that gruff voice, "but that doesn't mean that I'm gonna go easy on you, now come on!" Zack sighed but he obeyed Vincent and he charged forwards again as Vincent did the same, Zack quickly ducked under Vincent's claws and aimed a simple punch combo at Vincent's chest, Vincent quickly reached his arms up to his chest and blocked Zack's fists but Zack aimed a low kick at Vincent's leg which struck successfully. "Very good," Vincent replied without even flinching as he and Zack continued to trade blows, each one blocking successfully and letting few moves strike them. Zack slowly became more confident in his fighting skills and he was starting to get more used to using his hands, feet and claws when he before he was only used to using a sword. "Keep it up," Vincent encouraged Zack as Zack aimed a powerful punch at Vincent's face. Vincent managed to block the punch but the sheer force of it was enough to knock him back, Vincent managed to stop himself but he grinned at Zack. "It's clear that your dragon strength has come through, but you mustn't be afraid to use it."

Zack nodded but he wasn't aware that Vincent had slipped behind him until he felt himself being lifted up into the air, Zack looked behind him and he saw that Vincent had grabbed hold of his tail and started to spin Zack round above his head. Zack began to get dizzy as Vincent suddenly let go of him, Zack twisted his body in midair before he suddenly turned invisible. "Huh…" Vincent uttered in surprise as he stared at the spot where Zack was a few seconds ago. Vincent was so focused on that spot that he didn't even realise that Zack had managed to sneak up on him while invisible. Zack grabbed Vincent by the leg and lifted him above his head before he slammed Vincent down on the ground on either side of him repeatedly. Zack then leapt into the air and slammed Vincent into the ground with such a force that he was sent skidding across the ground and crashed into the tree. Zack turned visible again and breathed deeply as he felt the strength surge through his veins again.

"Vincent…" Zack called out his friend's name as he looked down and noticed the large skid marks in the ground before he saw Vincent lying underneath the tree. Zack ran up to the tree and he saw that Vincent had reverted to his human form. The dark haired man sat up and he smiled when he saw Zack.

"Not bad," Vincent commented as he staggered slowly to his feet, "not bad at all, you're using your newfound strength to your advantage, and you used your invisibility too, good combination."

"Thanks…" Zack replied modestly as he ruffled his spiky hair, "I guess I don't know my own strength sometimes."

"Now, let's see how you fare in ranged attacks," Vincent stated.

"Ranged attacks?" Zack asked as he gave Vincent a confused stare.

Vincent nodded, "thanks to the dragon DNA inside you, you possess the ability to breathe fire and to create it in your hands." Vincent answered, "I have reason to believe that you can breathe ice as well."

"Yeah," Zack answered, "how did you know?"

"All dragons possess the ability to control the elements," Vincent replied, "the nearer you are to an element, the stronger your powers for that particular element is." Zack nodded to show that he understood and he and Vincent walked to the edge of the hill again. Vincent pulled his cape back and took out a small disc, "now, what I want you to do is create a fireball in your hand," Vincent instructed, "I'm going to throw this disc into the air and I want you to throw the fireball at it, understand?"

"Yeah," Zack answered as he nodded his head.

"Good," Vincent replied, "create the fireball," Zack pulled his hands back and concentrated as he created a fireball in both his hands which gradually grew in size. After a few seconds Vincent threw the disc high into the air. "Now!" Vincent yelled and Zack launched the fireball at the disc causing it to set alight and fall to the ground. "You have keen eyesight," Vincent complimented Zack, "another useful skill to have, being able to attack your enemy from a distance is very advantageous, it gives you the opportunity to quickly dispose of them without you being spotted. Alright, let's try it again." Zack created an ice ball in both his hands, Vincent threw another disc and Zack threw the ice ball at the disc causing it to freeze in midair, the disc fell to the ground and shattered. After half an hour Zack was able to hit targets from a distance, after two more hours of training Zack was able to increase the size and power of his fire and ice breaths, create tornados of fire, turn anything into an ice statue, cause fire geysers to come out of the ground, create blizzards, and even create fire and ice barriers round himself.

"You've done well Zack," Vincent remarked as Zack was sat on the ground looking slightly exhausted but happy. "Your physical attacks have become stronger and you can do so much more with your breath weapons. I'll teach you how to revert but that'll have to wait for another training session."

"When will the next training session be?" Zack asked Vincent.

"I'll let you know when the next one is," Vincent answered vaguely as Zack stood up again and yawned loudly, "but for now, I think we should return to the inn so you can get some sleep."

"Yeah," Zack agreed, "I am feeling tired now, maybe it was from all that training." Vincent chuckled as the two walked down the hill and made their way to Nibelheim, they got back to the inn. "Aren't you coming in?" Zack asked Vincent.

"I already told you," Vincent stated as he shook his head, "I don't need sleep, I won't wander too far, I'll just be around town."

"Oh…ok," Zack replied, "thanks Vincent."

"Anytime," The dark man replied, Zack gave Vincent a sleepy smile as he flew in through the open window. Once he was back in the room he walked over to his bed, removed his boots and shirt climbed into bed and fell into a nightmare free sleep.

Tifa woke up early the next morning, she stretched as she threw the covers off herself and put her shoes on. She got out of bed and reached into her bag for the eggs, bacon, sausages etc that she had bought the day before, she took the plates and the food over to Zack's bed put some food on one the plates, held it out to Zack's face and waited, but nothing happened. "Huh…" Tifa uttered in surprise as she stared at the sleeping drag human, "maybe I should wait a little while longer." Tifa continued to wait but still there was no fireball shooting out of Zack's mouth much to Tifa's bewilderment.

"Nice try," a smug voice spoke up suddenly, Tifa almost leapt out of her skin when she heard it, she looked back at Zack to see that the drag human was wide awake and was grinning smugly at her.

"I don't understand," Tifa stated in shock, "why weren't you breathing fire?"

"I learned how to close off my fire lung," Zack answered as he stretched and placed his arms round the back of his head watching Tifa with an amused smile. "I closed it off last night before I went to sleep."

"Since when did you train yourself to close your fire lung?" Tifa questioned giving Zack a sceptical stare.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Zack responded as he closed his eyes still with smug expression on his face, "looks like you'll have to cook breakfast another way today."

Tifa huffed irritably as she looked round the room and saw the fireplace, she then looked back at Zack, "hmmm…" Tifa thought as an evil grin crept across her face, Zack's eyes fluttered wide open as he felt a strong hand reach behind him and grab him by the scruff of the neck.

"Whoa!" Zack yelled as Tifa dragged him out of bed and pulled him towards the fireplace. "Ouch Tifa!" Zack yelled in pain, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"Finding another way to cook breakfast," Tifa answered as she positioned Zack's head near the fireplace.

"I don't follow you," Zack replied as he gave Tifa a confused look over his shoulder. Tifa grinned as she pulled hard on Zack's tail causing him to breathe a jet of flames out of reflex, the flames hit the logs in the fireplace setting them alight. Tifa then shoved Zack out of the way and started to put all the food into a pan and cooked it. "Pure evil…" Zack muttered under his breath as he picked himself up off the floor, but it was within earshot of Tifa, Tifa ignored him and within half an hour she cooked everyone's breakfast.

Everyone woke up to the smell of the food and Tifa began to dish out the food, Zack stood in the corner of the room glowering at Tifa as everyone began to eat. Tifa was about to eat her own food when she noticed Zack stood there in the corner glaring at her, she picked up the other plate of food and she took it over to him. "Here you go Zack," she stated kindly as she gave him the plate of food, "peace offering..."

"Until the next morning," Zack snapped irritably.

"Come on Zack, you know I don't mean anything by it," Tifa pleaded with Zack.

"Yeah I know," Zack replied his tone was a little more friendly, he took the plate of food and started to eat. As soon as everyone had eaten they left the inn and met Vincent near the entrance to the mansion, the group left the town and started to follow the trail to the mountains.

"I sure wish we could've taken the buggy," Yuffie moaned as the group entered the mountains and the trail became steadily steeper.

"I don't think the buggy was built for mountains Yuffie," Aerith replied as she and the ninja walked beside Zack.

"Besides, the exercise will do us all some good," Zack added as the group continued to walk up the steep mountain trail.

"Right…" Yuffie relied as she gave Zack a sceptical look, "you do know that the only person who really needs the exercise is Barret?" Yuffie asked sarcastically causing Barret to scowl at Yuffie.

"It's a good thing it's open season," Barret retorted as he pointed his gun arm at Yuffie, "Cos I feel like hunting ninjas!"

"!" Yuffie yelled at the top of her lungs as she ran passed the other members of the group to get away from Barret, the man with the gun arm chased after her.

"Get back here ya scrawny assed bitch!" Barret yelled after Yuffie as he chased Yuffie further up the trail with the rest of the group staring in amazement.

"Wow…" Zack spoke up after making sure Barret was out of earshot, "that's the fastest I've ever seen Barret run."

"Come on," Cloud ordered as he quickened his pace, "let's keep going," without another word the group continued up the trail until they came across the rope bridge that was in Cloud's story. "Ok…this is weird," Cloud uttered as he stared at the now fixed rope bridge.

"Maybe they rebuilt it," Tifa stated as Cloud turned round and stared at her, "why not?" Tifa added with a shrug, "They've rebuilt Nibelheim."

"Good point," Cloud agreed with Tifa he put his foot out and walked slowly across the bridge making sure it was safe, he soon reached the other side. "It's ok!" Cloud called out to the group, "the bridge is safe," everyone walked across the bridge and as soon as everyone was safely on the other side they continued. The group walked through a winding cave they heard a low rumbling sound as a strange monster walked passed them, fortunately it didn't notice them and the group continued to traverse the cave until they found the trail leading out of the mountains and the other side. The group walked through the fields until they entered a small town with a tall metallic structure on the other side of it, the group stood there and stared at it.

"What is it?" Tifa asked as the group continued to stare at the structure.

"It looks like a rocket," Cloud answered.

"Why would they have a rocket in a place like this?" Zack questioned.

"Dunno laddie," Cait Sith answered, "but why don't we explore the town?"

"Good idea," Cloud agreed with Cait Sith, "we'll meet here in about an hour." Everyone nodded and they went their own separate ways, Cloud, Tifa and Vincent entered the weapon store to buy new weapons for everyone. Yuffie and Red went to the materia store, Cait Sith hung around in the middle of the town offering to tell people their fortunes, Barret found a bench to sit on to rest his feet while Aerith and Zack went to the item store to pick up some supplies. After an hour everyone met up in the place they agreed and they entered a house not too far from the rocket. The group walked through the house and out into the backyard where they saw a large pink plane.

"Looks like there's a Shinra logo on it," Red stated as he pointed at some writing with his paw.

"Tiny Bronco…" Zack read the name of the plane, "This is so cool!" He exclaimed excitedly as he leapt into the pilot seat, "I don't think the owner would mind if we borrowed this."

"A plane would be cool," Cloud admitted as he continued to stare at the plane in awe, "but how could we pilot it without the keys?"

"May I help you?" Another voice spoke up suddenly, the group turned round and they saw a young woman with long brown hair tied back in a ponytail, wearing a white lab coat and glasses stood behind them smiling.

"No," Cloud answered politely, "we were just looking at it, right guys," everyone nodded and murmured their agreements as Zack quickly slid out of the pilot seat hoping the woman hadn't noticed.

"If you'd like to use the plane please ask the captain, he should be in his rocket," the woman suggested helpfully, "I'm Shera by the way, and what are your names?"

"I'm Cloud," Cloud answered.

"Tifa,"

"Aerith,"

"Barret,"

"Nanaki, otherwise known as Red XIII or Red."

"Cait Sith, fortune telling extraordinaire."

"Yuffie, expert treasure hunter…"

"And resident pain in the ass," Zack spoke up causing Yuffie to scowl at him, "the name's Zack."

"Vincent Valentine."

"It's so nice to meet you all," Shera stated with a smile, "I see you're not from the Shinra, I thought that the approval for the reopening of the space program came." The group gave Shera blank stares, "President Rufus is scheduled to come here," Shera informed the group trying to hide the worry in her voice. "The captain's been restless all morning."

"Rufus!" Zack and Cloud exclaimed at the same time, hardly daring to believe that Rufus was on his way.

"If Rufus is involved, that ain't good," Barret added.

"Ok, me and Zack are gonna head to the rocket and talk to the captain, the rest of you stay here," Cloud ordered, the group made themselves more comfortable, Vincent grinned as he examined the new sawn off shotgun he bought himself. Cloud and Zack left the house and headed to the north side of town towards the rocket. They both climbed up the ladder to the entrance of the rocket.

"Shinra 26…" Zack read the name on the side of the rocket, "I wonder how long ago this was built…" He asked as he looked down at Cloud.

"Dunno," Cloud answered, "I guess we could ask the captain when we get there." Cloud and Zack climbed the ladder in silence, they soon reached the top and they walked through the door where they saw a blond haired man wearing a pilot outfit stood with his back to them. "Errr…excuse me," Cloud spoke up to get the man's attention, the man turned round and glared at Cloud and Zack.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" The man asked irritably as he continued to glare at Zack and Cloud.

"That's a fine way to greet someone," Zack retorted finding the man to be incredibly rude, "did you by any chance get up on the wrong side of the rocket this morning?"

"Zack…" Cloud hissed the drag human's name under his breath hoping against hope that the man didn't hear Zack's sarcastic comment. "We heard the captain was here," Cloud quickly added.

The man laughed deeply, "captain…" he repeated what Cloud said, "I'm the captain!" He stated as he pointed at himself. "The name's Cid," he told them his name, "but everyone here calls me captain though, what d'ya want?"

"Well…this rocket," Zack started, "it's really cool, we were wondering if you could tell us about it."

Cid grinned at Zack, "wow not bad for a…" Cid faltered slightly as he stared at Zack thinking best of what to say, "Whatever the hell you are." Zack scowled at Cid, "alright, I'll explain, you know the Shinra developed a lot of technological gadgets for the war right?" Cid asked as Zack and Cloud nodded, "well now it's a Mako company but back then it was a weapons manufacturer," Cid continued with his explanation. "They developed a rocket engine, there was so much excitement about the thought of going into outer space. Our dreams got bigger and bigger, they put a major budget into it and made prototype after prototype! Finally they completed the Shinra 26, they chose the best pilot in Shinra, no…the world…ME!" Cid said boastfully as his chest swelled with pride.

"So what happened?" Cloud asked like Zack he was eager to find out more.

"It came to the day of the launch," Cid continued with his tale, "everything was going well…" he turned round and he kicked the side of the rocket. "But because of that dumb ass Shera, the launch got messed up. That's why they became so anal. And so Shinra nixed their outer space exploration plans, after they told me the future was space exploration and got my damn hopes up…" Cid punched the wall, "DAMN THEM! Then it was all over once they found out that Mako energy was profitable, they didn't even so much as look at space exploration. Money, moola, dinero, my dreams were just a financial number to them!" Cid kicked the wall again and punched it several times, "Look at this busted pile of shit!" Cid cursed loudly as he continued to kick and punch the wall. "I was supposed to be the first man up in space in this!"

"Dude, I've got two words for ya," Zack muttered with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "Anger management…"

Cid turned round and glared at Zack but he chose to ignore the comment, "everyday it tilts a little more," he stated as he shook his head sadly, "I dunno which will happen first, this pile of crap collapsing, or me getting the fuck outta here." Cid slumped against the wall and folded his arms, "my only hope now is to talk to the President."

"Is Rufus coming?" Cloud asked as Cid nodded.

"Yeah," Cid answered a little more cheerful, "it must be news about restarting the space program. A young president, that's what we need," Cid stated admiringly, "he still has dreams too."

"Oh he has dreams alright," Zack said cryptically, "but his dreams are more in the world domination…ouch!" Zack yelled in pain as Cloud gave him a sharp dig in the stomach.

"Cid…about your plane, the Tiny Bronco…" Cloud started to ask, "We were wondering if we could borrow it."

Cid raised his eyebrows as he stared at Cloud and Zack, "are you out of your fuckin minds?" Cid yelled at the top of his lungs, "that's my most cherished possession, I can't let you take it!" Cid turned away for a few seconds, he looked over his shoulder and he saw that Cloud and Zack were still stood there. "You're still here…" He demanded as he glared at Cloud and Zack, "Fuck off!"

"Alright…sheesh" Zack started to retort, "no need to throw a hissy fit…" Cid continued to glare daggers at Cloud and Zack as they slowly backed out of the rocket knowing that they had outstayed their welcome. They climbed back down the ladder and made their way back to Shera's house where they found everyone else sat there waiting, Shera smiled as she walked up to them.

"Did the captain say anything?" Shera asked as she gave them hopeful expressions.

"Nope," Cloud answered as he shook his head.

"All though he did tell us an interesting story," Zack informed as Cloud made a throat cutting gesture with his finger trying to get Zack to shut up. "He kicked ten shits out of the rocket a couple of times and your name cropped up once or twice, but other than that, he didn't really say anything…oh wait, he hinted for us to fuck off, but other than that…"

"I think she gets the idea Zack," Cloud cut in through gritted teeth as he glared at Zack thinking that the drag human had said too much.

"I see…" Shera said quietly trying to hide the disappointment in her voice, the group jumped when they heard the door slam behind them and Cid stormed into the room glaring at Shera as he entered.

"Fuck Shera are you blind?" Cid yelled at the poor woman as the group stared in shock, "we got guests! Fetch them some tea for Christ sake!" Cid blasphemed loudly as Zack made a cross shape in front of him causing Aerith to scowl at him, but no one else noticed.

"I…I'm sorry…" Shera apologised as she hurried into the kitchen and placed a teapot filled with water on to the stove and began to make the tea.

"It's fine really," Cloud stated trying to be polite, "don't mind us."

"Yeah," Zack added, "I can't stand the taste of tea anyway."

"Shut up!" Cid yelled as he glared at Zack and Cloud, "sit your asses down and drink your goddamn tea!"

"Of course…I could try to stomach it…" Zack muttered nervously as he sat down backwards on the chair so that his tail was sticking out, Cloud however remained on his feet. Cid sat down on the chair next to the drag human, he rested his feet on the table and began to tap the table irritably.

"Damn I'm pissed!" He cursed impatiently as he leapt to his feet again and looked at Shera, "Shera! I'm gonna be in the backyard tunin' up the Tiny Bronco! An' be sure to serve them tea! Alright!" He yelled in a patronising manner as he stormed out of the room and slammed the backdoor behind him.

"How rude…" Tifa spoke up irritably as she glared in the direction Cid stormed off in, "you'd think he'd have better manners."

"Sorry about this," Cloud apologised to Shera as she turned away from the stove, "it's our fault."

"No, no, don't apologise," Shera replied quickly as she politely brushed Cloud's apology aside, "he's always been like this."

"Well that's no excuse for his behaviour," Aerith admonished as she stood up from her seat on the sofa and placed her hands on her hips. "He shouldn't treat people like that."

"Yeah," Barret agreed, "if you ask me he was too hard on ya!"

Shera shook her head, "no…" she stated quickly as she rested her hands on the kitchen counter, "it's because I made a stupid mistake. I was the one who destroyed his dream," Shera confessed as she hung her head sadly.

"How did it happen?" Zack asked curiously as Shera sighed and looked up again as she began to explain what happened.

* * *

(Flashback)

_It was approximately 10 years ago on the morning when the Shinra 26 was to be launched into space and there was much excitement on the big day. But before the rocket could be launched technicians were checking the rocket to make sure that it was safe. Shera was in the engine room checking the oxygen tanks while Cid stood there and watched._

"_Hey! Get your ass in gear!" Cid yelled impatiently as he shook his fist at Shera hoping that would make her work faster. "You work like a snail! Even the moon'd get tired waiting for your ass!"_

_Shera had completed her checks on one of the tanks, she stood up and looked at Cid, "I…I'm sorry…" Shera stammered as she bowed her head slightly._

"_Don't spend so much time checking that pissin' oxygen tank!" Cid yelled at Shera as he became more and more agitated, "Shera, bein' careful's good, but it won't do any good no matter how many times you check that oxygen tank. That thing wouldn't break even if hell froze over!" Cid stated proudly as he patted the oxygen tank._

"_But…" Shera stuttered as she tried to reason with Cid but he didn't want to hear it._

"_No buts!" Cid snapped as he became annoyed again and started to wave his arms wildly, "you're not stupid! So be more efficient!"_

"_I…I'm sorry…" Shera apologised again as she got to work checking the next oxygen tank._

_Cid shook his head, "Lord give me strength…" He muttered under his breath before he strode out of the engine room and walked to the corridor where he, Cloud and Zack were talking. Several technicians were working on the rocket but they stopped what they were doing and formed a line on either side of the corridor and saluted as Cid entered._

"_Captain! Our dreams are finally coming true!" One of the technicians exclaimed excitedly as Cid walked passed him._

"_We're so proud to be a part of the launch of the Shinra 26," another technician stated tearfully as he wiped a tear away from his eye._

"_Captain! Preparations are complete!" A third technician informed Cid, "all that's left is lift off."_

"_Yeah!" Cid answered as he laughed heartedly, he too was excited about going into outer space, finally his dream was coming true. "Just leave it all to me!" I'll be back in a few!" The technicians saluted again as Cid walked passed them and stood at the entrance to the cockpit. "Thanks guys," he replied gratefully._

"_We're praying for your safety!" All the technicians said in perfect unison as they left the rocket, Cid chuckled to himself as he entered the cockpit and sat down at the control panel._

"_Instrumental panel…all clear…Shinra No 26, ready for launch," Cid spoke into a radio as static crackled in it._

"_Engine pressure rising," a female technician informed Cid over the radio, "Shinra No 26, 3 minutes to launch."_

"…_Finally…" Cid let out a huge happy sigh and sat back in his chair only to fling himself forwards again as an alarm sounded. "What the? Cid yelled as he looked all around him, "what happened?"_

"_Cid! We have an emergency situation!" The female technician yelled desperately down the radio, "a mechanic is still in the engine section of the rocket!"_

"_What?" Cid snapped shocked at hearing that, "who's the son of a bitch?"_

"_I don't know," the female technician answered, "activating the intercom in the engine section," Cid looked up at the camera in front of him and he saw someone still in the engine room. "Hey, goddamn it" Cid shouted down the intercom, "who the hell is still in there?"_

"_It's Shera captain," Shera answered as she stopped what she was doing and talked into the intercom, "don't mind me, go ahead with the launch."_

"_Shera!" Cid continued to yell down the intercom, "what are you still doing there?" He demanded a hint of worry in his voice._

"_I was still concerned," Shera answered truthfully as she pointed at one of the oxygen tanks, "the results of the oxygen tank test weren't satisfactory."_

"_You stupid little bitch!" Cid insulted Shera down the intercom, he didn't mean to insult her but it was all he could think of to say. "It's gonna get so hot in there that there ain't gonna be shit left when we blast off!" Cid informed Shera, "you're gonna be burnt to a crisp! You're gonna die, you know that, doncha?"_

_Shera shook her head, "I don't mind," she replied quietly as she returned to checking the oxygen tank, "if I can just fix this," she explained, "the launch'll be a success, I'm almost done."_

"_Almost done!" Cid repeated what Shera said in a panicked tone, "you're gonna die!"_

"_Cid, we must start the countdown!" The female technician warned him over the radio, "we won't make it if we don't, starting engine!"_

"_Hey wait a minute!" Cid yelled down the radio, "Shera's still in there!"_

"_What are you going to do Cid?" The female technician asked him, "if we cancel now, we'll have to wait six months for the next launch!"_

"_GODDAMNIT…Shera!" Cid cursed loudly down the intercom as he banged his fists on the control panel, "do you wanna make me a bloody murderer?"_

"_Captain!" Shera called to Cid over the intercom._

"_Shera!" Cid yelled her name down the intercom._

"_Tank number seven check is complete," Shera informed him as she moved on to the next oxygen tank, "once I complete tank number eight, it's all clear."_

"_Come on Shera…" Cid pleaded with her, "hurry up…you're gonna die!"_

"_30 seconds till ignition," the female technician warned Cid, "beginning countdown."_

"_Hey wait!" Shera's still in there!" Cid yelled again._

"_Forget about her Cid!" The female technician snapped down the radio, "We won't make it in time!"_

"_What…what am I…what am supposed to do?" Cid yelled desperately as he buried his face in his hands._

"_13 seconds till ignition," the female technician gave Cid a second warning._

"_Oh man…" Cid moaned as his arms violently shook, "the moon…outer space…my dreams!"_

"_Ignite engine!" The female technician commanded as the countdown reached zero._

"_SH….IT!" Cid shouted at the top of his lungs, he looked down at the control panel and slammed his hand on the abort button. The rocket engine ignited and hovered off the ground for a few seconds before the engine died down and fell back to the ground. The rocket stayed in its position for a second before it slowly tilted with a loud creak, the rocket fell on to the old support beams and remained there even to the present day._

* * *

(End Flashback)

"He pushed the emergency engine shutdown switch, aborting the mission and saving my life." Shera explained as she finished telling the group what happened, "after that the space program was cut back and the launch was cancelled, it's my fault his dream was destroyed…" Shera stated sadly as she shook her head, "that's why…it's alright, I don't care what the captain says, I'll live my life for him."

"Hmmm…you're still devoted to him no matter how badly he treated you," Vincent mused from his corner as he closed his eyes and folded his arms as he thought about the concept.

"Not me!" Yuffie stated boastfully, "if a guy ever treated me like shit I'd high tail it out of there faster than anyone could say materia!"

"That is if any man would give you a second glance," Barret remarked as he grinned evilly at Yuffie.

"Hey!" Yuffie snapped as she scowled at Barret and placed her hands on her hips, "I resent that!"

"Actually he's got a point," Zack agreed with Barret as Yuffie turned round and glared at the drag human, "you're not exactly well developed in the upper chest area," Zack commented as he pointed towards Yuffie's upper chest area.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yuffie demanded as she stomped over to Zack.

"He didn't mean anything by it," Aerith stated as she too walked over to Zack, "Did you Zack?" She asked as she stared intently at Zack.

"Right…" Zack answered as he gave both Aerith and Yuffie a sly grin, "sure…whatever you…ow!" Zack cried out as a sharp pain shot through his foot, he looked up at Aerith and saw her grinning at him, "Aerith!" Zack yelled her name, "What did you do that for?"

"There was no need for you to insult Yuffie like that," Aerith admonished as she waggled a finger in Zack's face.

"Hey, Barret insulted her too," Zack retorted as he looked over to find that the man with gun arm was snickering at him, "I don't see you stamping on his foot."

"What you said was worse," Aerith argued back, Zack opened his mouth to speak again but he closed it again as everyone heard the sound of a door slamming and Cid stormed back into the room again.

"Shera!" Cid yelled so suddenly that the poor woman almost leapt out of her skin, "you still haven't served em tea yet!"

"I…I'm sorry…" Shera apologised again as she rushed back to the stove and continued to make the tea.

"Look Cid, I know you've had a hard time lately," Zack spoke up as the pilot turned round and glared at him, "but do you really have to be so hard on her?"

"Can it lizard breath!" Cid snapped at the drag human, "or I'll shove my spear up where the sun don't shine!" Cid threatened as he grasped hold of a long spear secured to his back, Zack stared nervously at the spear and he fell silent. Cid grabbed hold of a chair opposite Zack, he sat down on it and rested his leg on the table for the second time and tapped it impatiently on the table again. "They're late…" Cid muttered under his breath as he continued to tap his foot on the table, "where's Rufus?"

As if answering his question, the front door was flung open and an over weight man with thinning grey hair wearing a trench coat entered the room. "Hey-hey!" The man exclaimed excitedly as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. "Long time no see! So Cid, how've ya been?"

Cid leapt to his feet and turned round to face the man, "well if it ain't fat man Palmer!" Cid responded by way of greeting, "How long were you figurin' on keepin' me waitin'?" Cid demanded as he shoved Palmer backwards. "So when's the space program starting up again?" He asked as he gave Palmer a hopeful look.

"Hey-hey!" Palmer yelled a little flustered, "I don't know, the President's outside, so why don't you ask him?" Palmer suggested as Cid scowled at him.

"Fuck…good for nothing fat bastard…" Cid muttered under his breath as he pushed passed Palmer and stormed out of the house slamming the front door behind him.

"Don't say fat!" Palmer called after Cid before he entered the kitchen and saw Shera making tea, "are you making tea?" He asked as he gazed longingly at the teapot, "can I have some too?" He pleaded, "with lotsa sugar and honey…and oh yeah…don't forget the lard."

Zack snickered under his breath, "what jackass would have lard in their tea?" He asked as he stared at Cloud.

"Who cares?" The ex SOLDIER answered, "He's distracted, let's go and see what Rufus is up to." While Palmer was busy telling Shera what he wanted in his tea, Cloud and Zack took the opportunity to sneak passed the kitchen, Zack growled under his breath as he passed Palmer causing the hairs on the back of the man's neck to stand up on end, Palmer turned round to look at the door just in time to see the end of Zack's tail disappear out of the door before it closed. Zack and Cloud stood near the door and eavesdropped on the conversation between Cid and Rufus.

"What the…" Cid yelled as he glared at Rufus who was flanked by three bodyguards, "you got me all excited for nothin'!" Cid snapped at Rufus as he waved his arms wildly, "Then what did ya come here for?"

"I want to borrow the Tiny Bronco," Rufus requested calmly making Cid even more agitated, "we're going after Sephiroth, but it seems that we were going in the wrong direction." Rufus informed Cid, "but now we think we know where he's heading. But we have to cross the ocean, which is why we need your plane."

"Shit!" Cid cursed loudly as he continued to glare at Rufus but he was careful not to get too close to Rufus for fear that his bodyguards would shoot him. "First the airship, then the rocket!" Cid yelled as he listed the things that Shinra had taken away from him, "you've already taken outer space away from me, now you want to take the sky away from me too!"

Rufus laughed, "oh…you seem to be forgetting that it was because of Shinra inc that you were able to fly in the first place," Rufus reminded Cid, the pilot had his mouth open to speak but he closed it again as he knew that Rufus was right.

"So that's what they were after," Zack whispered to Cloud being careful not to attract attention, "they want the Tiny Bronco…"

"We can't let them get it," Cloud whispered back to Zack.

"Excuse me…" A small voice spoke to them, Zack and Cloud turned round to see Shera stood behind them. "This way…" Shera whispered as she beckoned for them to go inside, Cloud and Zack followed Shera into the house and she closed the door behind her. "You wanted to use the Tiny Bronco right?" Shera asked as the group nodded, "I believe Palmer's going to take it," Shera informed them, "why don't you go talk to him?"

"Oh we'll do more than that…" Zack muttered under his breath so that Shera couldn't hear him, the group walked through the house and out the back door where the Tiny Bronco was being kept. They saw Palmer sat in the pilot seat of the plane attempting to hotwire it.

"How are we gonna stop him from taking the plane?" Tifa asked as she looked to her team mates for an answer.

"Just leave it to me," Zack answered as he gave the group a sly grin, he turned round to look at Vincent who nodded. Zack turned invisible and he crept up to Palmer who was still trying to hotwire the plane.

"Why do I have to do this?" Palmer complained loudly as he fiddled with some wires, "I'm the Head of the Space…aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Palmer cried out as he grabbed by the back of his coat and dragged out of the pilot seat, the group saw their chance and crept to the plane while Palmer was kept busy, Yuffie leapt into the pilot seat and continued what Palmer started. Meanwhile Palmer was struggling against his invisible assailant, "unhand me!" He demanded as he struggled feebly in the air, "I'm the Head of the Space Program and I order you to unhand me!"

Palmer continued to struggle even when he was hanging from a hook on the back door, Zack turned visible again right in front of Palmer slamming his fist into the palm of his other hand as he grinned at Palmer. "Y…you…" Palmer stammered as he remembered seeing Zack somewhere before.

Zack nodded as he cracked his knuckles, "Back at the Shinra Building I warned you that if we ever crossed paths again, I wouldn't hesitate to kill you," Zack whispered threateningly as he glared menacingly at Palmer causing the man to cower in fear.

"Y…you…w…wouldn't…" Palmer stammered as Zack stalked closer to him, "Y…you…w…wouldn't…dare…kill me…"

Zack's grin grew wider as his claws sprang out of the slits in his gloves causing Palmer to cower even more at the sight of them, "try me…" He hissed menacingly in Palmer's ear.

"W…what…are…you…g…gonna…do…" Palmer asked in a frightened tone.

"Heh…heh…heh…" Zack laughed darkly as his eyes flashed with a lust for blood, "first of all, I'm gonna wrap my hands round your flabby neck…and I'm gonna strangle you until you go purple in the face." Zack started to explain in graphic detail as he placed a clawed hand at the bottom of Palmer's neck, causing the man to whimper. "Then I'm gonna rip your lungs out…" Zack continued as he moved his clawed hand down to where Palmer's lungs were. "And maybe you're heart as well…but first…I'm gonna ruin you…Like the very company you work for, ruined me…"

Zack grabbed Palmer by the collar of his coat with one hand and he pulled the other fist back aiming to strike Palmer in the face, for the first time in his life, his eyes showed no flicker of emotion. Just a cold emptiness as they narrowed in concentration. Palmer stared into the blank staring eyes and saw his own frightened eyes reflected in them, Palmer raised his hands up and screwed his eyes shut as he braised himself for the incoming punch. Palmer heard a sickening crunch as a fist slammed into something, Palmer opened his eyes and slowly lowered his fists to see Zack's arm next to him, his fist had disappeared into the door. Zack stood there for a few seconds frozen before he slowly pulled his fist back revealing a fist sized hole in the door at the same level Palmer's head was. Zack's hand was covered in splinters and the glove had holes in it, but at that moment in time Zack didn't care. Palmer stared into Zack's eyes and he saw that Zack's eyes were wide and they held great shock within them, Zack slowly lowered his arms, he was unaware that his friends had watched the whole the scene from the Tiny Bronco. For a while time seemed to have come to a stand still, but after a while Zack knocked Palmer down from the hook on the back door with a single sweep of his arm. Palmer landed on the ground and shuffled back a few spaces, until he remembered something, he reached into his coat pocket and he pulled out a gun. Palmer pointed the gun at Zack's shoulder blade aiming to shoot the drag human while his back was turned, but Zack knocked the gun out of Palmer's hand with one sweep of his tail.

Palmer tried to grab the gun, "aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!" He cried out in pain as a boot clad foot stepped on Palmer's hand, Palmer looked up to see Zack stood there staring at him still breathing deeply. Zack bent down, picked up the gun and emptied the ammo out of it before tossing it to the ground. "Y…you…were…bl…bluffing…" Palmer stammered not taking his frightened eyes off Zack.

"Luckily for you," Zack answered, "I'm not the kind of guy that likes to kill in cold blood…unlike the Shinra…" Zack spat the last word like a bitter poison, he continued to stand there staring Palmer down with his frightening yellow eyes. Palmer was about to speak but his voice was drowned out by the whirring of a plane motor, Yuffie had finally managed to hotwire the plane.

"Zack!" A loud voice called out his name, Zack looked up to see Cloud kneeling on the wing as everyone stared at him, "come on! We don't have much time!"

Zack lifted his foot off Palmer's hand, "get the hell out of here…" Zack hissed at Palmer, the frightened man didn't need telling twice. He staggered to his feet and ran towards the back door, he opened it and ran through the house as Zack ran towards the plane and leapt on it just as it started moving forwards. The Tiny Bronco crashed through the fence and sped through the field near the rocket gradually picking up speed until it took off into the air going steadily higher.

"I think I'm gonna be sick…" Yuffie moaned as she covered her mouth.

"I'll take over," Cloud offered as Yuffie climbed out of the pilot seat and Cloud climbed in himself. Cloud pulled on the controls and the plane flew once round the rocket before heading to the front of Cid's house where Cid and Rufus were still talking the plane flew over Rufus and Cid.

"Cid!" Cloud called out to Cid as the pilot looked up and saw the Tiny Bronco flying passed, he pushed passed Rufus and started to run for the plane.

"They're getting away! Stop them!" Rufus ordered as the soldiers pointed their guns at the plane and opened fire.

"Shit!" Cid cursed as he picked up his speed and he leapt on to the back of the plane.

"Nice of you to join us," Tifa greeted the pilot as he caught his breath, "looks like you'll need a new back door…"

"…What?" Cid yelled as he glared at Tifa.

"Nothing…" Tifa quickly stated as the pilot thought nothing of it, the group thought they got away when a bullet struck the tail of the plane causing it to spark.

"The tail's been hit!" Cid yelled, he struggled to reach the pilot seat as the plane began to descend rapidly.

"Emergency landing!" Cloud yelled as Cid grabbed hold of him and shoved him out of the pilot seat.

"Hang on!" Cid yelled as he climbed into the pilot seat himself and tried to pull the levers in an attempt to keep the Tiny Bronco airborne. "This is gonna be a bumpy landing!" Cid warned the group, "hold on to your drawers and don't piss in em!"

The plane began to descend faster as everyone desperately hung on to something, Aerith lost her grip. "!" She yelled as she slid to the edge of the plane and she would've fallen off if Zack hadn't have grabbed hold of her and pulled her back on. Aerith held on tightly to Zack as he held on to one of the poles on the wings.

Everyone yelled as the plane descended faster and faster before crashing right in the middle of the sea and skidding slightly before coming to a complete stop. Everyone slowly stood up and looked around as Cid climbed out of the pilot seat to look at the damage. "Damn it!" He cursed as he kicked the Tiny Bronco, "she won't fly anymore."

"Can't we use it as a boat?" Cloud asked staring hopefully at Cid.

"Do whatever the fuck you want!" Cid cursed as he sat down with his legs dangling over the edge of the plane not really arsed about what happened next.

"What are you gonna do now?" Tifa asked Cid.

"Dunno," Cid answered as he shrugged his shoulders, "I'm history with the Shinra now, and I've just about given up on the town," the pilot sighed as he took the spear off his back and looked at it.

"But what your wife…Shera?" Aerith questioned as she became concerned for the woman who had helped them out.

Cid laughed loudly as he heard Aerith call Shera his wife, "wife…" Cid repeated what Aerith said, "don't make me laugh! Just thinkin' about marryin' her is giving me the chillies! What're you guys gonna do?" Cid asked as an after thought.

"We're after a man named Sephiroth," Cloud answered truthfully, "we'll have to go after Rufus Shinra one day too."

Cid snickered when he heard that, "dunno about any of that but…aw…what the hell…sign me up!" Cid exclaimed as he leapt to his feet.

Cloud grinned, "how about it everyone?" Cloud asked as there were general murmurs of agreement.

"Glad to be aboard numbskulls!" Cid stated loudly as he grinned back at the group.

"Hey! Who are you callin' numbskulls?" Yuffie demanded as she glared at Cid.

Cid laughed at the expression on Yuffie's face, "Yeah," he answered, "anyone stupid enough to go against the Shinra nowadays has gotta be a numbskull…I like it! So where are we headed?" Cid asked a little more enthusiastically. "Rufus told me he was goin' after Sephiroth towards the Temple of the Ancients."

"The Temple of the Ancients…" Aerith stammered hardly daring to believe that she was hearing it.

"But I thought that was just a legend," Red stated obviously intrigued, "maybe not…"

"So does it really exist?" Aerith asked.

"How the fuck should I know?" Cid snapped, "All I know is that numbskull kid said he was headin' in the wrong direction."

"Before we start looking for this Temple of the Ancients, I think it might be best if we found a wee bit of land to gather some information and supplies," Cait Sith suggested.

"I know these waters," Yuffie stated as she smiled, "yeah, my hometown isn't too far from here, all we have to do is steer the plane northwest and we should be there." Yuffie suggested.

"Well for once I'll have to agree with Yuffie," Barret spoke up as Yuffie smiled at him, "it's the only other plan we've got."

"Alright," Cloud agreed, "we'll go to Yuffie's hometown, gather some information on the Temple of the Ancients and then try to find it…Temple of the Ancients…the name bothers me…"

After a few minutes Cid climbed back into the pilot seat and started to steer the Tiny Bronco to the northwest. Aerith walked over to the right wing of the plane and saw Zack sitting at the edge of it by himself, his feet were lightly brushing the surface of the water.

"Zack…" Aerith whispered the drag human's name as she sat down next to him, "are you ok?" She asked her voice was filled with concern.

"I'm fine…" Zack answered without turning to face her, he didn't want her to look at him. He didn't want to see the shame in his eyes, he had almost killed Palmer in cold blood. He had stared the man right in the eyes and he saw a monster reflected back in them, he saw something that he didn't want to become. It was then that he remembered what Vincent had told him the mansion, _"All of Hojo's victims become monsters in the end…" _Vincent's voice echoed in Zack's mind and it filled him with dread. _"Is it true?" _Zack asked himself as horrible thoughts entered his mind, _"am I really becoming a monster? Am I becoming less human, the longer I remain like this? Will my friends be safe around me? Will Aerith be safe?" _Those questions continued to plague his mind as he dreaded the imaginary answers they gave, Zack was soon snapped out of his thoughts as he felt the soft and delicate touch of Aerith's hand on top of his own. Zack forced himself to look at Aerith, he looked down and he saw that Aerith was holding the hand he had punched the door with in both of hers whispering words under her breath as a green aura surrounded Zack's hand and when it disappeared the splinters and the cuts were gone.

"Zack…I saw what happened…back at Cid's house…" Aerith spoke up her voice catching her throat, Zack hung his head sadly, but Aerith placed a finger under his china and lifted his head up. "I don't think that you're a monster," Aerith reassured him, "and I don't think that you're a danger to me or anyone else."

Zack smiled weakly before he looked down at his hands, he noticed for the first time that one of his gloves was damaged and the purple skin on his hands showed through the holes in his glove. "I think I'm gonna need a new pair of gloves," Zack replied as he continued to stare at his hands.

"Or you could just take them off…" Aerith suggested as she placed her hand on top of his, Zack looked into her face and down at his gloves again, reluctant to remove them. "I'm sure it's not that bad," Aerith said encouragingly, Zack sighed as he slowly removed his gloves to reveal his hands. Aerith looked at them carefully and turned them over and she saw the giant slits in the tips of his fingers, "is that where your claws come out?" She asked, Zack nodded and large, black slightly curled claws sprang out of the slits. Aerith ran her fingers along them. "Wow…" Aerith whispered amazed.

"You're not repulsed by them…" Zack asked shocked that Aerith wasn't screaming or cowering in fear.

"No," Aerith replied as she shook her head, "and you shouldn't be ashamed of yourself. As far as I'm concerned, you're the same Zack I fell in love with and not much has changed, not on the inside."

Zack smiled at Aerith, he knew that she was right, as long as he had her at his side, he felt like his old self. Zack brought his arms up and wrapped them round Aerith. "Thank you Aerith," he whispered in her ear. "For believing in me."

"Don't mention it," Aerith whispered back, the two parted and they returned to looking over the edge of the plane. Aerith rested her head in Zack's chest and smiled, listening to his heartbeat as the Tiny Bronco sailed towards its next destination and the group knew that they were one step closer to finding and stopping Sephiroth.

* * *

**Phew, finally chapter 10 is complete. Sorry it took a while, I kept getting distracted for countless reasons, I hope the chapter is ok, it took me forever to write. Wow, Vincent became a sort of mentor to Zack and Zack himself developed a bit of a dark side. Good thing he has Aerith to pull him through. Chapter 11 will be coming soon, well I can I find the time to write it. Final Fantasy VII and its characters and contents belong to Square Enix, The Matrix belongs to ****Wachowski Brothers.**


	11. Yuffie's True Intentions

**Chapter 11: Yuffie's True Intentions**

It had been at least two hours since the group had made their dramatic exit from Rocket Town on a plane which was now too badly damaged to fly. However thanks to the team's resourcefulness they were able to turn the Tiny Bronco into a boat and with the help of their newfound team mate Cid, a world renowned pilot the group were able to continued their journey.

Tifa was sat near the tail of the plane watching Zack and Aerith who were a few feet away from her. She watched with keen interest as Aerith continued to rest her head in Zack's chest while the drag human continued to have his arm wrapped round the Cetra's shoulder. Tifa couldn't help but feel a small amount of jealously towards her friend.

"What are you looking at?" A voice asked, Tifa turned round to see Cloud stood behind her.

"I was just…watching Aerith and Zack," Tifa answered as she pointed at the drag human and the Cetra. "It's funny isn't it, how even after everything Zack's been through and looking like a… you know…" Tifa faltered slightly trying to think of the best words to use.

"I know what you mean," Cloud replied, "Aerith loves him, she doesn't care what Zack looks like. Neither do I come to think of it, as long as he pulls his weight."

Tifa laughed when she heard Cloud say that, the ex SOLDIER smiled, Tifa's laughter was like music to his ears. "Hey Cloud, do you ever think about love?"

Cloud stared at Tifa trying hard to hide his shock, "to be honest…I haven't really thought about it," Cloud stated truthfully. "And I don't think now's really the best time to think about love."

Tifa sighed, "I guess you're right," she replied as she looked down at her feet. "But…it would feel nice to have someone close to you, someone you really care about and someone who cares about you back."

"I'm fine on my own," Cloud stated bluntly, an obvious lie.

"But wouldn't you get lonely?" Tifa questioned wondering how anyone could be fine alone.

"I guess so," Cloud replied, "but, I'm not ready for that sort of thing yet." Cloud sat down next to Tifa and the two talked as they cast the occasional glance at Zack and Aerith who were still in the same spot.

After a while the group started to approach land, "alright listen up you gobshites!" Cid yelled causing the whole group to stare at him, "we're approaching land so you'd better prepare yourselves!" The group looked out in front of them and they saw that they were indeed approaching land, the beach spread out in front of them and the towering mountains could be seen for miles around.

The group checked their packs to make sure they had everything, they made sure that their weapons were in working order as the Tiny Bronco made its way to the shore. Red looked to his left to see Yuffie stood next to him grinning. "What are you so cheerful about?" The beast asked curiously as the girl turned round to face him.

"Oh…errr…nothing…" Yuffie stammered trying to think of the best answer without arousing suspicion, "I'm just happy to be home…"

"I see…" Red replied taking on board what the ninja was saying, but he couldn't help but feel suspicious about Yuffie. "You're not up to anything are you?" He questioned eyeing Yuffie suspiciously.

"What are you implying Red?" Yuffie demanded as she glared at Red, the beast opened his mouth to speak but he seemed to think better of it and closed his mouth again.

"Now that you two have finished yer bitchin'," Cid remarked as the Tiny Bronco skidded to a halt at the beach. "Let's get on land!" The group jumped off the Tiny Bronco and took a look around, "well I'm totally fucked," Cid cursed as he sat down on a large stone and lit up a cigarette. Tifa scowled at the pilot but he just ignored it.

"Which way Yuffie?" Cloud asked as he stared at the ninja hoping for some directions.

"Oh, it's just up that hill over there," Yuffie answered helpfully as she pointed to a winding trail on her right, "then we've gotta cross a few rope bridges and…"

"Hey! Slow down would ya!?" Cid snapped causing Yuffie to stop in mid sentence, "I can't make head nor tail of what yer saying!"

"Why don't we just walk up the trail?" Aerith suggested smiling at both Cid and Yuffie, "then we'll deal with the bridges and whatever else there is when we get there, ok?"

There were general murmurs of agreement, "alright then," Cloud stated as he started walking in the direction that Yuffie had pointed to. "Let's get going."

Cid coughed as he almost swallowed his cigarette when he heard what Cloud said, "What…you want to go…right now…" He questioned in between coughs.

Cloud stopped in his tracks and he turned round to look back at Cid who had managed to control his coughing. "Why not?" Cloud asked not taking his eyes off the pilot, "the sooner we can get supplies and information on the Temple of the Ancients…"

"That's if it even exists," Zack cut in causing Cloud to turn and glare at the drag human. "I'm just saying that's all…" Zack added in a defensive tone.

"As I was saying…" Cloud continued choosing to ignore Zack's remark, "the sooner we get supplies and information, the sooner we can stop Sephiroth and the Shinra."

"Aw shit!" Cid cursed loudly as he looked forlornly at his half chewed cigarette, "I only lit up a moment ago!" Cid dropped his cigarette on the ground and stepped on it to snub it out, Yuffie scowled at him. "What…" Cid demanded not even bothering to look at Yuffie.

"Do you mind not littering my homeland?!" Yuffie snapped as she continued to scowl at Cid placing her hands on her hips.

"I'll do whatever the fuck I want!" Cid retorted as he looked up and glared at Yuffie hoping to stare her down. "And no annoying little punk like you can tell me what to do!"

"Can we just get going?!" Cloud yelled irritably causing the pilot and the ninja to stop arguing and they both stared at the ex SOLDIER who was scowling at them. Knowing what Cloud was capable of, the two decided to put their petty argument behind them, Cloud gave them a satisfied smile and the group set off up the trail with Yuffie running on ahead.

The trail was long and twisted and turned at regular intervals making it increasingly difficult for the group to traverse it. However the group pressed on with minimal complaining, (well Barret and Cid were the ones that were complaining but their complaints were mostly ignored.) Zack looked behind him to see that Aerith was flagging a bit, _"poor Aerith," _Zack thought to himself as he cast a sympathetic look at the Cetra. _"Stamina never really was her strong point, but still she carries on without even complaining. Unlike the golden oldies back there…" _Zack smirked as he saw Cid and Barret at the back of the group lagging behind and grumbling loudly.

Zack turned his attention back to Aerith he turned round and he walked back towards her, "you ok?" He asked his voice filled with concern.

Aerith looked up and smiled when she saw Zack, "yeah, I'm ok," she answered a little wearily as she continued to climb up the hill.

"I could carry you if you get too tired," Zack kindly offered as the Cetra shook her head.

"That's very kind of you Zack, but I can manage," Aerith politely brushed his offer to the side as the two continued to climb up the hill.

"You sure?" Zack asked as he continued to give Aerith a concerned stare, "you do look a little tired."

"I'm sure," Aerith answered, "the last thing I want is to be a burden to you."

"You're not a burden," Zack reasoned with Aerith as he smiled warmly at her. "Far from it, I wouldn't have offered if I thought you were gonna be a burden."

"I could do with being carried," Barret grumbled as he and Cid finally caught up to Zack and Aerith.

"Barret, the strongest man in the world couldn't handle your weight," Zack retorted as he turned his head round to look at the man. "Besides, I find it funny listening to you and Cid complaining." Zack added as he smirked at the two men causing them to scowl at him.

"ARE YOU SAYING I'M FAT?!" Barret's booming voice echoed through the plains.

"No," Zack replied as he turned round walked towards Barret, "I'm saying you should layoff the junk food," he answered in a joking manner as he playfully jabbed at Barret's stomach causing the man to scowl even more.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr…" Barret growled under his breath and glared so menacingly that Zack backed away.

"Eh he…" Zack laughed awkwardly as he continued to back away, "I gotta run Aerith…" Zack whispered in the Cetra's ear as he passed her, "but if you do get tired just say so!" After backing away a few more paces Zack turned round and ran up the hill as Barret charged after him aiming his gun arm at the drag human.

"GET BACK HERE YOU MOTHER FUCKER!" Barret yelled at the top of his lungs as he continued to chase Zack up the hill.

Yuffie halted Zack and Barret ran round in circles round her, the ninja grinned at the sight. "At least I'm not on the receiving end of Barret's fierce temper this time," Yuffie muttered under her breath as she continued to grin.

After a while the group had finally climbed up the trail and took a few moments to catch their breath. Cid was the last person to climb up the trail and he sat down on the nearest boulder panting heavily. "Fuck me!" Cid cursed loudly as he continued to breathe heavily. "That climb sure took a lot out of me…"

"Well maybe if you didn't complain so much," Tifa admonished playfully wagging her finger in Cid's face causing the pilot to glare at her.

"I wasn't complaining!" Cid yelled defensively.

"Then why were you muttering shit, shit, shit, fuck, shit, under your breath?" Zack asked as he raised an eyebrow and smirked slyly at Cid.

"You could hear me…" Cid questioned as he stared at Zack in shock.

"My hearing is superior to a normal human's," Zack answered as he pointed to his ears. "I can hear the faintest sounds, you muttering swear words under your breath sounded like an earthquake to me."

"Damn! Remind me not to insult you while you're in earshot," Cid stated as he took out another cigarette and lit it. Tifa and Aerith scowled at him but he ignored it, Cid looked around but he noticed that Yuffie wasn't with them. "Hey, where'd that skiving, conniving bitch get to?" Cid asked as everyone turned to look at him.

"She probably wanted to get away from all the arguing and bickering," Aerith retorted as she continued to scowl at Cid.

"Which she causes most of the time," Cid argued back.

"And don't call her such horrible names!" Aerith snapped as she jabbed her finger into the pilot's chest, "I know she can be a little childish at times, but she's a good person deep down!" Zack snorted with laughter behind Aerith causing the Cetra to turn round and glare at him. "Find something funny Zack?" She demanded as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Yuffie…being a good person," Zack answered truthfully unfazed by the evil glare that Aerith was giving him. "Would a good person set up traps in a forest hoping that some unwitting strangers would walk into them?" Zack quizzed, Aerith faltered trying to think of a comeback but she knew that the drag human was right and Zack knew it as well as he grinned victoriously at her. "I didn't think so," Zack answered his own question still grinning as Aerith continued to glare at him.

"I have to agree with scales there," Cid stated agreeing with Zack, "It does seem like a suspicious way to meet people."

"Yeah," Zack agreed, "and I'll bet Cid's pack of twenty that Yuffie is up to something dodgy."

"Speaking of cigarettes," Aerith retorted as she marched up to Cid and knocked the cigarette he was holding out of his hand. "From now on this is a non-smoking trip."

Cid stared at Aerith in shock, "what the fuck did ya think you were doin'?!" He demanded, he stared in horror as Aerith stamped on the cigarette and twisted it under foot to snub it out.

"No more smoking!" Aerith admonished as she folded her arms and stared sternly at Cid, "it's bad for your health and I for one don't want to breathe in your smoke." Aerith turned and walked away from Cid.

"Damn woman…" Cid muttered under his breath as he glared at Aerith. "You're just as bad as Shera!" Cid yelled louder causing Aerith to turn round and glare at him.

"And I'll be a lot worse if I have to be!" Aerith snapped causing Cid to shrink back slightly, "and unlike Shera I won't take your abuse with gentle humour!" Cid continued to stare at Aerith, too shocked to even speak.

"Hi guys!" A shrill voice rang out, the group turned round to see Yuffie stood behind them smiling.

"Speak of the devil," Barret muttered, "where the hell have you been?!" He demanded as he stomped up to Yuffie.

"Oh that's a fine way to greet a skilled ninja!" Yuffie snapped as she glared at Barret and placed her hands on her hips.

"Skilled…" Barret repeated as he resisted the urge to laugh, "Don't make me laugh!"

"Where as you wouldn't know what skill is if it kicked you in the ass!" Yuffie argued back as Barret glared at her.

"Why you little…" Barret started to say but Aerith got in between them and held her hands out to stop them.

"Can't you two go five minutes without arguing?!" Aerith snapped irritably as she glared at both Barret and Yuffie, obviously in no mood for anymore conflict.

"Sheesh…" Yuffie let out a sigh, "what's your problem?" She asked as Aerith gave the ninja a dirty look.

"Nothing…" Zack quickly cut in as he walked up to the three grabbed hold of Aerith's wrist and started to drag her away, "probably just her time of the month…"

"It's not my time of the month!" Aerith yelled as she struggled against Zack's iron grip, "and even if it was, it's not why I'm moody!"

"Which way now Yuffie?" Cloud quickly asked the ninja changing the subject.

"Well, there's three bridges we have to cross," Yuffie answered, "the first one's not too far from here, come on!" She called out to the group as she ran on ahead.

"Again…" Cid muttered irritably as he got up from his seat, "all this mountain climbin' and crossin' bridges is too much for this old bugger!"

"We've been sat here for fifteen whole minutes," Vincent remarked, the first time he had spoken in a while.

"Well listen to old miserable git!" Cid retorted as he grinned at Vincent, "the way you've been actin' anyone would think that you're goin' to a funeral."

With one swift movement Vincent was behind Cid pointing his handgun at the pilot's head, the barrel of the gun pressing against Cid's temple. "Careful Cid," Zack joked as he watched the scene trying hard not to laugh. "Vincent has a gun, and it looks like he knows how to use it."

"Can we all just get moving please?!" Cloud snapped irritably causing Zack, Cid and Vincent to stare at the ex SOLDIER who was glaring at them. Vincent sighed, he pulled his handgun away from Cid's head and he put it back into its holster on the opposite side to where he kept his shotgun.

"And I thought only women suffered from PMT," Zack commented as the group started to follow Yuffie.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Tifa and Aerith demanded in unison as they glared at Zack with their hands placed on their hips.

"Nothing…" Zack answered nervously, the two women continued to give Zack dirty looks. They were both tempted to kick him where it hurts, but they thought better of it and turned round to catch up to Yuffie. Half an hour later the group reached the first bridge, Zack walked forwards and began to examine the bridge. The bridge was old, and seemed to sway dangerously in the wind. Some of the planks were missing and the ropes holding the bridge up looked worn and ready to snap at any moment.

"Are you sure this bridge is safe?" He asked as he looked at Yuffie.

"Of course," the ninja answered as she stepped forwards. "I've been using this bridge for years."

"It looks like it could break at any moment," Zack remarked as he pointed to the worn ropes holding the bridge up.

"Well if you're gonna be a big baby, I'll go first!" Yuffie snapped as she stepped on to the bridge and she crept slowly along it. "Aaaahhhh…" Yuffie gasped as she felt the bridge shake, she heard laughing behind her. Yuffie turned round and she saw Zack there shaking the bridge. "Stop that!" She snapped as Zack released the ropes and stopped shaking it, Yuffie continued to cross the bridge and she soon reached the other side.

"Come on!" Yuffie called over to the group, "it's safe, but it can only take one person at a time!" Yuffie warned as one by one everyone crossed the bridge, fifteen minutes later everyone was safely on the other side. Yuffie led the way to the next bridges and the group crossed both bridges without too much trouble.

It was approaching sunset by the time the group crossed the third bridge and were back in the fields again. By that time they were all tired and hungry. "We'll set up camp here and rest for the night," Cloud stated much to the relief of everyone, "then we'll carry on tomorrow."

The group took the packs off their backs and began to set up camp, there was a forest near their campsite and Yuffie volunteered to get some firewood. The camp was already set up by the time she returned, there were too large tents set up. Aerith, Tifa and Yuffie were sharing one tent and Cloud, Zack, Barret and Cid were sharing the other. Red preferred to sleep under the stars while Cait Sith and Vincent said that didn't need sleep.

Zack set up the fire and used his flame breath to set the wood alight, Tifa and Aerith took some food out of their bags and they began to cook food for everyone. Once everyone had had their fill of food, the men entered their tent safe for Vincent, Red and Cait Sith who remained outside. Red curled up near the remains of the fire and fell asleep instantly, Vincent and Cait Sith wandered off to do their own thing. The three women entered their tent, Aerith put her bag down next to her sleeping bag and she removed the materia pouch from round her waist and put it next to her bag as she and Tifa got changed into their nightclothes. (**A/N, yes Aerith keeps all the materia in a pouch round her waist, I know I said that she keeps it in her bag. But from now on she keeps the materia in a pouch, I apologise for the consistency error.**) Yuffie eyed the materia pouch eagerly before she reached into her own bag grinning.

"Err…Aerith," Yuffie called out the Cetra's name, Aerith looked up and smiled at Yuffie.

"What is it?" She asked kindly.

"Well…I think I may have replaced my nightclothes after our dramatic exit from Rocket Town," Yuffie lied through her teeth. "I was wondering if I could borrow yours, you know, just until we get into town and I can buy a new one."

"Sure, I'll see what I can do," Aerith replied as she reached into her bag. Yuffie made sure that neither Aerith nor Tifa were looking before she grabbed the materia pouch and put it into her own bag before she replaced the pouch with an identical one just as Aerith had found what she was looking for. "Lucky for you I had a spare," the Cetra told Yuffie as she pulled out a long pink nightdress made out of silk. "I know it's a little big," Aerith continued as she gave the nightdress to Yuffie, "but I'm sure it'll be fine for one night."

"Yeah…thanks," Yuffie thanked as she forced a smile on to her face, Aerith smiled back before she crawled into her sleeping bag. Aerith looked over to her right to see that Tifa was already in her sleeping bag, fast asleep. Aerith yawned as she drifted off to sleep, Yuffie grinned as she watched the two women sleep, her plan was working perfectly. Yuffie grimaced at the pink nightdress Aerith had lent her and she threw it over Aerith's bag before she picked up her own bag and walked out of the tent with the materia pouch in it.

The sound of birds singing could be heard as morning approached, Aerith moaned slightly as the morning sun peeped through the entrance of the tent and shone in her face. Aerith slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes, after taking a moment to adjust to being awake she got up and got changed into her travelling clothes. She was about to put her sleeping bag back into her pack when she noticed the pink nightdress she had lent Yuffie the night before.

"Maybe she found her nightclothes," Aerith stated as she put the nightdress as well as the sleeping bag back into her pack and put the materia pouch round her waist. "Or maybe the nightdress wasn't really her thing…I wonder where she is." Aerith heard soft moaning to her right as Tifa woke up, Aerith turned to her right as the raven haired woman sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Morning sleepy head," Aerith greeted cheerfully as Tifa smiled sleepily at the brown haired woman.

"Morning," Tifa answered back as she let herself adjust before she got up and got dressed. Tifa noticed that Yuffie's things were gone, including her sleeping bag. "Hey, where'd Yuffie get to?" She asked as she looked at her friend.

"Dunno," Aerith replied as she shrugged her shoulders, "maybe she's outside, we should check." Aerith suggested as Tifa put her things into her bag and the two women walked out of their tent to find the men gathered round a new campfire.

"'Bout time you gals got up!" Barret hollered as Aerith and Tifa walked over to the campfire and sat down.

"How long have you guys been up for?" Tifa asked.

"About five minutes," Zack answered as he poked a long fork into the fire, "we're just making breakfast." Zack continued as he took the pan of food out of the fire and started putting it on to plates.

"Well that makes a nice change," Aerith stated as Tifa giggled. Zack scowled at the two women as he passed the plates of food round.

"You guys haven't seen Yuffie have you?" Tifa asked the guys after the group had eaten.

"Nope," Cloud replied as the men shook their heads, "we thought she was in the tent with you two."

"We haven't seen her since last night," Aerith answered.

"It's possible that the lass has gone on ahead," Cait Sith theorised as he bounced up to the group. "If that's the case then we should hurry if we want to catch up with her."

"Where've you been?" Zack asked eyeing the cat suspiciously.

"I was just…goin' for a wee stroll," Cait Sith answered nervously hoping that the group would buy his lie. Zack continued to stare at Cait Sith with the same sceptical expression but he didn't say anything else.

"Cait Sith's right," Cloud stated quickly changing the subject, "if Yuffie has gone on ahead we should leave now if we want to catch her up. Besides, Wutai isn't that far from here." Zack threw dirt on to the fire to put it out and the group quickly dismantled the camp before setting off again.

"There they are! Get them" A voice bellowed loudly as the group found themselves surrounded by several men wearing blue uniforms brandishing guns.

"The Shinra…" Red stated in surprise as the group withdrew their weapons and got into fighting stances not taking their eyes off the soldiers.

"Hey!" Another soldier yelled as he looked at his comrades, "That's not them, these are the other guys from before!"

"What should we do?" Another solder asked looking towards his comrades for answers.

"Just grab them!" The commander ordered, "Grab them and ask questions later!" The soldiers obediently pointed their guns at the group.

"It's so nice to be wanted," Zack muttered sarcastically as he snarled menacingly at the solders nearest to him causing them to cower in fear.

"Yeah," Cloud replied agreeing with Zack as he swung his sword round and held it behind him. "Aerith, pass us some materia," Cloud called out to the Cetra as she reached into her materia pouch.

"Err…Cloud…" Aerith started to say but no one else seemed to hear her as battle was already underway. Cloud charged towards the soldiers and leapt into the air performing a powerful braver attack slicing one of the soldiers in half before he quickly followed up with a cross slash attack cutting another soldier into confetti.

Two SOLDIERs 2nd class charged at Tifa aiming to punch her, "I'd hate to have to hurt a pretty girl like you," one of them stated as Tifa easily dodged his punch.

"How about you and I go out after all this is over?" The other SOLDIER flirted with Tifa.

Tifa grinned at the SOLDIER as she charged at him and punched him several times viciously as she performed her infamous beat rush attack. "Sorry…" Tifa performed a backwards somersault on the SOLDIER, "I don't…" She performed a powerful upper cut on the SOLDIER breaking his helmet in half and cracking his jaw, "date…" Tifa elbowed the SOLDIER in the stomach winding him before she picked him and spun him round above her head. "Losers…" Tifa leapt into the air and swung the SOLDIER round repeatedly, "like you!" She yelled as she threw the SOLDIER to the ground, the SOLDIER slammed into his comrade with such force that both SOLDIERs skidded along the ground knocking over several more of their comrades. Tifa landed gracefully on the ground and dusted her hands off as she grinned at the downed SOLDIERs.

Vincent and Barret were stood back to back pumping the soldiers full of lead. Midway through the shooting match Barret ran out of ammo, he pulled what looked like a small energy ball and threw it at the soldiers shooting at him. The ball exploded on impact and body parts fell to the floor, Vincent smirked at the carnage as he blew a hole in the chests of several soldiers in a row with his shot gun.

Cid leapt into the air and thrust his spear downwards impaling a soldier on it, the pilot then swung his spear round impaling more soldiers on to it their blood oozing to the ground. Cid knocked the bodies off his spear before he ran off to fight more.

Zack ducked just in time as a soldier charged at him with a rapier, a strike which would've taken his head off if he was a second slower. The soldier tried to strike Zack again but the drag human was too quick for him, Zack kneed the man in the stomach winding him and causing him to drop his weapon upon impact. "Ok…the rapier thing, is really starting to get old," Zack whispered in the soldier's ear. The soldier whimpered as he felt Zack's warm breath on the back of his neck and he knew that his life was at its end. Zack's pointed ears pricked up as he heard footsteps pounding on the ground behind him, with a quick flick of his tail Zack managed to grab his attack by the throat. Zack turned his head round slightly to see another rapier wielding soldier struggling against Zack's tail which was currently wrapped round the man's throat.

Zack grinned evilly as his tail tightened round the soldier's neck strangling him, after a moment of struggling the soldier hung limp and lifeless. Zack unravelled his tail causing the soldier's body to fall to the ground unmoving, his comrade who had witnessed the whole thing and who managed to get his breath back while Zack was distracted started to run off petrified. However Zack was soon on the soldier's tail, Zack threw himself at the soldier using his weight to drag the soldier down. They both fell to the floor with the drag human on top punching the soldier hard in every spot he could find.

"Where did you think you were going?" Zack demanded as he punched the soldier hard in the face almost breaking his jaw. "I'm not finished with you yet!" Zack climbed off the soldier and dragged the man to his feet, the beaten and bruised soldier was staring at Zack through his damaged helmet. "Let me give you some ice for that!" Zack yelled in a joking man as he threw an ice ball at the soldier turning his whole body into ice. Zack then pulled his fist back and punched the frozen man causing him to shatter into pieces the ice shards flew all over the place causing all the fighters to shield their eyes so they wouldn't get any shards in their eyes.

Red howled at the sky causing stars to fall from the cosmos eliminating the remaining soldiers until only the commander was left. The group turned round and glared at the commander each of them in battle stances, realising that he was fiercely outnumbered and wouldn't stand a chance against a formidable group he turned tail and ran.

"Fuckin' coward!" Cid yelled after the commander, "get back here and we'll kick yer scrawny ass to kingdom come!" Cloud shook his head at the pilot as he walked over to Aerith.

"Aerith, I thought I told you to give us some materia," Cloud stated in an exasperated tone.

"That's what I wanted to tell you," Aerith replied in a worried tone as the rest of the group walked up to her and Cloud. "The materia…it's…gone…" Aerith informed the group as they all stared at her in shock.

"WHAT DO YA MEAN IT'S GONE?!" Barret demanded loudly as he glared at Aerith, Aerith sighed but she said nothing. She removed the pouch from her waist and tipped the contents out of it, countless pebbles dropped to the floor, Zack bent down and picked one up.

"Pebbles…" Zack questioned as he examined the pebble in his hand, "but that's insane…I mean who'd replace our materia with…"

"Yuffie…" Zack and Cloud spoke in perfect unison as the two men stared at each other and an understanding passed between them.

"I should've known!" Cloud yelled as he kicked the other pebbles on the ground, "why didn't I see it before?"

"None of us did," Tifa stated as she placed her hand on Cloud's shoulder, "we all trusted Yuffie."

"Yeah…well it turns out it was a wrong move," Zack added as he threw the pebble he was holding to the ground. "She only joined us because she wanted our materia."

"Zack's right," Red agreed with the drag human, "if it wasn't us, then it would've been someone else as long as they have their pockets lined with gil or they had materia on them."

"Are you sayin' that Yuffie was hangin' around that forest waitin' for some poor sap to walk in?" Barret questioned as he stared at Red, the beast nodded.

"It seems like a reasonable assumption," Red answered, "she was always bragging about her skills."

"Just wait till I get my hands on her!" Tifa snapped as she cracked her knuckles, "I'll kill her, I really will bloody murder her!"

"Well you're gonna have to get in line missy," Cid retorted as he tightened his grip on his spear, there were general murmurs of agreement and Barret and Vincent were stroking their guns much to Aerith's displeasure. "See what I tell ya," Cid added in a triumphant tone as he grinned at the look on Aerith's face. "Everyone wants a piece of her, includin' you."

"I don't want a piece of her!" Aerith denied vehemently as she turned her back on Cid and folded her arms stubbornly.

"Sure Aerith…" Zack replied mockingly causing Aerith to scowl at him, "let's just find Yuffie so I can disembowel her." Aerith stared at Zack unsure of what he meant.

"In layman's terms, he's gonna rip out Yuffie's internal organs," Cid explained in graphic detail causing Aerith to glare at the pilot and back at Zack again.

"You're not going to rip out Yuffie's internal organs are you?" Aerith quizzed as she gave Zack an evil glare.

"No of course not…" Zack answered an obvious lie, "I'm gonna start with the outside first," Zack continued showing his fangs as he grinned at Aerith who was still scowling at him. Cid and Barret chuckled to themselves. "First I'm gonna break her legs so she can't run, then I'm gonna break her arms, then I'm gonna snap her scrawny neck and…" Zack paused for a minute as he thought about it, "wait, I better save that till last," Zack said changing his mind and running his hand through his spiky hair. "I want to cause her as much pain as possible before I kill her."

"I got dibs on the lungs!" Cid requested loudly before Barret had a chance to say anything, causing the man with the gun arm to give the pilot a disappointed stare. "I've always wanted to play the bagpipes."

"No one's going to be killing Yuffie, right Cloud? Cloud…" Aerith questioned as she looked over in Cloud's direction to see the ex SOLDIER sharpening his sword with one of the pebbles. "CLOUD!" Aerith yelled at the leader of Avalanche causing him to drop the pebble and put his sword back on to his back.

"What?" Cloud asked trying to look innocent, "My sword needed sharpening," he lied but Aerith glared at him seeing through the lie.

"Looks like Cloud's jumpin' on the bandwagon!" Cid remarked with a smirk as Aerith turned round and scowled at him.

"Can we just get going?" Cloud demanded however he couldn't help but smirk, "I'd like to find Yuffie and get our materia back before nightfall." Without another word and hell bent on getting Yuffie back for stealing their materia, the group resumed their journey and they eventually ended up in the village of Wutai. An oriental style town with surpassing beauty, a river flowed through the village separating it into three islands and a large mountain towered above the village. The group saw Yuffie on the opposite side of the river to them.

"There she is!" Zack informed his friends as he pointed at Yuffie.

"Oh shit!" Yuffie cursed as she saw the group, she ran off as quickly as she could, Cloud and the others tried to follow her but she had disappeared and couldn't be found.

"Shit!" Cid yelled at the top of his lungs kicking the ground as he did so, "where did that lyin' thievin' bitch run off to!?"

"She can't have gone far," Cloud replied as he looked round the town as the townspeople stopped and stared at the group for a second before they continued with their daily business. "Let's spread out and search." Everyone split off into teams of twos and threes and walked round the town to search for Yuffie, Cloud and Zack walked into a building with a sign saying Turtle's Paradise on the side of it. The two men saw that they were inside a bar, like the rest of the town the bar had an oriental theme complete with a fish pond at the far corner of the room.

"I guess we better start asking around," Cloud said to Zack with a sigh as the drag human smirked.

"Good idea," Zack agreed still smirking, "although a shrill voiced, flat chested, highly annoying sneak thief shouldn't exactly be hard to find." Cloud shook his head at Zack's remark but he smiled lightly and started to walk further into the room, they were about to go up to the bar and ask about Yuffie when Zack bumped into a young blonde woman carrying a glass of white wine spritzer causing a small amount of the liquid to spill on to her jacket.

"You clumsy idiot!" The woman yelled as she glared at Zack, "you made me spill some of my drink!"

"Sorry about that," Zack apologised as he looked the woman up and down, his eyes grew wide with shock as he realised who it was. "Elena…" Zack uttered the woman's name causing Cloud to stop and stare at Elena in shock.

Elena leapt back as she realised who had bumped into her, "y…you two…" Elena managed to get out as she staggered backwards not taking her eyes off the two men. "How did you get here?"

"We could ask you the same question," Cloud retorted causing Zack to snicker slightly.

"Good comeback," Zack complemented Cloud as he high fived him, this caused Elena to scowl at them.

"Not that it matters," She continued choosing to ignore the remarks, she put her glass down on a table next to her and she got into a fighting stance. "I guess fate brought us together."

"Sorry, I don't date school girls," Zack muttered in a mocking tone pretending to completely misunderstand what Elena was saying causing the Turk to become even more frustrated.

"Like I'd go out with a freak like you anyway!" Elena snapped at the drag human as she continued to glare at him, her blonde hair falling into her face.

"Oooooooohhhh…" Cloud moaned mockingly, he pretended to cringe as he smirked at Zack causing the drag human to glare at him. "That was a low blow…"

"Shut up!" Elena snapped at Cloud, as she continued to glare at the two men still in her fighting stance, "Prepare to die!" Elena however showed no intention of fighting, Cloud stared at Zack who merely shrugged in reply. "Reno, Rude…" Elena whispered to the side, Cloud and Zack looked to the side at the table Elena had put her glass on and saw that Reno and Rude were sat at the table each one drinking a bottle of beer. "I need backup."

Reno and Rude however didn't move and they continued to down their drinks, "…Elena, you talk too much…" Reno stated slightly drunk when he had finished his drink and started to open another bottle of beer he had bought at the bar earlier.

Elena brought her fists down and turned round to stare at the red haired Turk, "Wh…what…" Elena stuttered hardly daring to believe what she was hearing, Reno never gave up an opportunity to fight Cloud and the others if they crossed paths. "I don't understand…"

Reno sighed irritably as he half glared and half stared at Elena, he seemed to have lost the will to even stand. "Elena, what are we doing here in the middle of nowhere?" Reno asked not taking his eyes off his comrade.

"We're taking our vacation and resting up from our work," Elena answered.

"Vacation…" Zack asked as he stared from Reno and Rude who held the bottles of beer in their hands to Elena who was staring at Reno with the same shocked expression. "You're not here for any other reason?"

"Yes, we're on vacation," Reno answered frustrated that Avalanche would turn up just when he was starting to enjoy himself. "And thanks to you guys showing up and Elena overreacting our vacation is ruined."

"I don't overreact!" Elena snapped at Reno as she placed her hands on her hips and glared at the semi drunk Turk.

"You're doing it now," Reno commented as he stared at Elena, _"damn…she's cute when she's angry…" _Reno thought to himself and a smirk spread across his face as he continued to stare at Elena, but he was able to wipe the smirk off his face and he replaced it with a more serious expression.

"B…but…" Elena stammered as her anger was replaced with confusion at Reno's words.

"Even the booze tastes bad now…" Rude spoke up for the first time in the conversation, he wasn't as drunk as Reno but he was getting close to it.

"I…I'm sorry…" Elena apologised, she was about to sit down when she remembered that Cloud and Zack were still stood there and she turned her attention back to them. "You guys were lucky, this time," she added in a more threatening tone as she pointed her finger warningly at them. "Now get out of my sight before I change my mind and decide to go after you."

Ooohhhh, we're so scared…" Zack sarcastically shot back as his body shook, "look at me…I'm shaking…"

"Zack…quit while you're ahead…" Cloud whispered in the drag human's ear, Elena merely scowled at them before she sat down and drank her drink but she didn't take her eyes off Cloud and Zack as the two walked out of the bar, just hearing Reno and Rude making drunken toasts to mundane things.

"That was weird…" Zack stated as he pointed back towards the Turtle's Paradise, "So why do you think the Turks are really here?"

"Who knows?" Cloud replied with a shrug, "apart from Elena shouting the odds, they weren't really causing trouble," Cloud reasoned as Zack nodded in agreement. "Let's just focus on finding Yuffie and getting our materia back." Cloud and Zack moved away from the Turtle's Paradise, they passed more buildings, both shops and house as they walked through a small forest filled with blossom trees. Cloud and Zack entered the other side of the town where they saw more buildings and market place in front of them. At the far side of the area they saw a tall pagoda style building, Cloud and Zack looked to their right and they saw a large mansion they walked towards the mansion and they saw their friends stood outside the entrance waiting for them.

"'bout bloody time you guys got here!" Cid cursed loudly as he smoked another cigarette much to Aerith's annoyance. "How long were you plannin' on keepin' us waitin'?"

"Any luck?" Tifa asked as she walked up to Cloud and wrapped her hands round his neck.

"Nope," Cloud answered as he shook his head, he smiled slightly as he felt Tifa's warm breath on his neck. Though he hated to admit it, he liked having Tifa close to him, she made him feel complete, whole. Of course, he didn't tell her that, he was too embarrassed to. _"Oh Tifa…" _The ex SOLDIER thought sadly to himself as Tifa still had her arms wrapped round his neck. _"I wish you knew how I really feel about you, I'm just not sure how to express myself." _Cloud soon snapped out of his thoughts, he had more pressing issues right now, like finding Yuffie and getting the materia back. Also he wanted to find as much information about the Temple of the Ancients as he could. "Did you have any luck?" Cloud asked as Tifa released her hold on Cloud.

"Not really," Tifa replied as she shook her head, "we asked around but no one seemed to be able to help us."

"It's like she disappeared off the face of the planet," Aerith added as she walked up to Zack and hugged him. "We couldn't find her anywhere, so we kept walking through the town and we ended up here," Aerith explained as she gestured towards the mansion.

"An' we've been sittin' on our asses waitin' for you guys to show your faces," Barret stated irritably.

"Sorry about that," Zack apologised, "we were a little side tracked, what with the Turks an' all."

The group stared at Zack and Cloud in shock, "the Turks were here?" Vincent quizzed his emotions were unreadable however he reached for the hand gun at his side. "What were they up to this time?"

"Relaxing, drinking themselves stupid…" Zack answered as he stared nervously at Vincent's hand which had tightened round the hand gun. "Elena was making a scene but other than that they weren't causing any trouble."

"Come on," Cloud quickly changed the subject as he walked up the steps to the entrance of the mansion, "We'll go inside and ask if anyone has seen Yuffie." Everyone nodded in agreement, they didn't have any other ideas. They followed Cloud up the steps and the ex SOLDIER pushed the door open and the group entered the mansion to find themselves in an extravagant entrance hall. A large fountain stood in the centre of the hall, the sides of the room were lined with decorative columns with ivy wrapped round them, a grand double staircase twisted down behind the fountain and countless rooms branched from the hall. Servants were rushing round tidying the place up and making sure everything was in order.

The group stood there staring at the decor, their mouths were wide open with shock. The cigarette that Cid was smoking fell out of his mouth. "Holy shit!" Cid's voice echoed through the vast hall, all the servants stopped what they were doing and turned round to stare at the group. "What are you staring at?!" Cid snapped at the servants who immediately returned to whatever task they were doing.

"Wow!" Aerith squealed hardly able to contain her excitement as she jumped up and down and ran her finger along the patterns of the pillar that was nearest to her. "This place certainly is exotic," she commented as she turned back and smiled at Zack. "I'd love to live in a place like this, wouldn't you?" She asked as her smile grew wider.

"I dunno…" Zack answered, "I think a place like this might get a little lonely with just us on our own."

"Are you kidding?!" Tifa asked, she too was unable to contain her excitement. "A large and beautiful mansion with over 500 rooms, servants waiting on you hand and foot, extravagant food…" She sighed happily closing her eyes as she imagined life as a lady of leisure. "Sounds like my idea of heaven," Aerith nodded agreeing whole heartedly with her friend.

"I think mansions are overrated," Vincent spoke up, he was stood a little behind the group leaning against the door post, his voice and his expression bore no emotion.

"You're such a party pooper," Aerith stated in a playful manner as she stuck her tongue out at the raven haired man causing him to become a little irritated.

"I'm not one for parties," Vincent merely said as he pushed himself off the wall, "besides, I'm entitled to my opinion."

"I never said you weren't," Aerith said in a defensive tone.

"Guys, we're here to find Yuffie," Cloud reminded the group of their task.

"And I thought you were gonna say that we have to find Sephiroth," Barret stated with a smirk as the blond haired man scowled at his friend. "That's what you normally say," Barret added. Cloud was about to say something but a young female servant with black hair tied back in a bun wearing a servant uniform saw the group and she walked up to them.

"May I help you?" She asked politely as she smiled and bowed to the group.

"Yeah," Cloud answered as he turned away from Barret and looked at the girl, "we'd like to see the master of this mansion."

"I'm sorry, but Lord Godo has specifically requested not to be disturbed," the girl informed the group as she bowed again.

"Please," Red pleaded with the girl, she stared at the beast too shocked for words. "This is an emergency, and we were hoping that this Lord Godo could help us."

"That beast…" The girl stammered finally finding her voice. "I…it…talks…"

"Of course," Red muttered rolling his eyes, "I'm not just some monster that lacks intelligence," Red said this a little more irritably than he intended but the reaction he had received when he spoke annoyed him greatly even though he was used to it.

"He gets that reaction a lot," Aerith stated sympathetically as she rubbed the beast at the back of the ears.

"I…I'm sorry," the girl apologised again, "it's just that, we don't normally allow pets inside unless of course they belong to Lord Godo."

"He's not a pet," Zack stated the girl then looked up and noticed Zack.

"Aaaaaaahhhhh! A monster!" She yelled in fear as she leapt back.

"Gee…that makes me feel so much better," Zack muttered sarcastically as he glared at the girl.

"I'm so sorry," the girl apologised for a third time, "I've never seen anything like you before, I just assumed that you…"

"Were a monster…" Zack finished the girl's sentence for her, he had had that reaction a lot since he escaped from the Shinra building and he wondered if he would ever be normal again. "I'm used to it."

"I'll take you to Lord Godo," the girl said quickly changing the subject. She had become so flustered that she had forgotten what her master had requested. "Please, come this way," the girl bowed again and she led the group through a door at the back of the hall. The group followed the girl through a corridor where they saw even more rooms.

"Man, whoever this Lord Godo is he's one lucky son of bitch," Cid commented as he just saw the grand dinning room.

"Well Lord Godo does run this town," the girl stated as the group turned a corner and walked down another corridor. "Being Lord does have its perks," the group eventually stopped at a door on the right. "Lord Godo normally stays in this room," the girl informed the group. "I must warn you though he's a very proud man and can be easily offended so watch what you say, and please, show him respect, he's a very powerful man."

"We will," Cloud replied, "and thanks." The girl smiled and she bowed again to the group before she walked back down the corridor to return to her duties. Cloud opened the door slowly and carefully and the group crept into the room. It was a decent sized room decorated with a red carpet trimmed with gold, there were many small lanterns lighting the room. The group walked further into the room where they saw a middle aged but powerfully built man wearing black and white robes and black hair tied back in a bun lying on futon seemingly asleep.

Zack crept up to the sleeping man, "do you think this is Lord Godo?" He asked as he looked back at his friends.

"Could be laddie," Cait Sith replied, "that kind lass who led us here did say that Lord Godo stayed in this room a lot."

Zack shrugged and he gently nudged the man with his foot, "gah…" the man moaned as he turned over on his side. "What do you want?" He muttered irritably he still looked asleep, Zack was about to respond but the man spoke again. "Look I don't have much…" Zack snorted under his breath, he considered that to be an understatement. "But you should be able to…rest here…" Zack looked over at Cloud and the others, Cloud shrugged wondering if the man even knew what he was saying.

"We're looking for a girl named Yuffie," Zack started to ask the sleeping man, "we were wondering if you've seen her."

"Yuffie…" The man muttered as his opened his eyes when he heard the name, "nope, never heard of her…" The man stated as he closed his eyes again wishing to go back to sleep.

"Are you sure?" Zack questioned, "We know she's in this town somewhere, we just don't know where she is."

The man's eyes snapped open again, "you again!" He yelled irritably not wishing to look at Zack, nevertheless the man knew that the drag human was there. "I told you once and I'm telling you again, I don't know her!" However Zack continued to ask the man questions causing the man to sit up in frustration, "are you deaf!?" He snapped irritably at having been disturbed, "I said I don't know her! There isn't anyone named Yuffie in this town!" The man stood up and he saw the group for the first time, "…I haven't seen you lot around before…" He stated a little calmer.

"Are you Lord Godo?" Cloud asked as he stared at the man.

"Yes I am," Godo answered proudly as his chest swelled with pride, "I run this town and the land you see all around you." Godo stepped off his futon and paced round the room, "although I've been seeing a lot of Shinra soldiers round here lately," Godo explained a hint of worry in his voice. "You wouldn't have anything to do with that would you?" Godo asked as he turned round and eyed the group suspiciously.

"No," Cloud answered shaking his head, "we're not affiliated with the Shinra."

"Humph," Godo snorted as he glared at the group, "come to think of it, I don't care who you are, if you're in trouble with the Shinra then I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"That's nice…" Zack muttered sarcastically Cloud scowled at Zack as if to say not now.

"I'm asking you politely to leave," Godo stated through gritted teeth become more agitated by the second, "I don't want the Shinra hanging around here looking over my shoulder."

"WHAT'S WITH YOU!? YOU COWARD!" A shrill voice echoed throughout the surrounding area, the group looked towards the door to see Yuffie drop down from the ceiling outside Godo's room. Godo turned round and staggered back a few paces when he saw her too shocked to speak.

"Y…Yuffie…" Godo uttered, the only word he could really say.

"You scared of the Shinra?" Yuffie questioned in a mocking tone as she scowled at Godo folding her arms and tapping her foot irritably. "Then why don't you fall into line and obey them like all the other towns!" She yelled mockingly as she stepped into the room and looked at the group, "these guys are the ones who are really fighting the Shinra," she explained to Godo.

"Shut up!" Godo snapped at Yuffie losing all his composure and patience, "just shut up! What would an insolent little brat know about this?!" Godo demanded not taking his eyes off the young girl that stood before him.

"Ouch…" Zack whispered to Cloud who merely nodded.

"You get beaten once and that's it!" Yuffie snapped back glaring at Godo, she didn't take too lightly to being called an insolent brat and she revelled in the fact that she could remind Godo that he wasn't invincible. "What happened to the mighty Wutai I used to know?!"

"No kid like you is going to speak to me like that!" Godo retorted as he walked towards Yuffie, "you keep acting like a spoilt brat!" You ought to be ashamed of yourself!" Godo continued to yell his face had gone red with anger.

"That's my style!" Yuffie argued back tired of being told what to do, her body was tensed up and her hands were balled into fists. "And it's my own business, not yours! Don't you try and dictate what I do!" Yuffie continued to tell Godo what she thought effectively putting him in his place, Godo was just stood there staring at Yuffie in shock.

"Style…dictate…" Godo muttered those two words as he held his head with his hands trying to comprehend the words. "Throwin' around all those fancy words…you're a miserable daughter!" Godo blurted out in front of a shocked group.

"Humph…" Yuffie snorted irritably, "and you're a sad excuse for a father!" Godo let out an angry cry as he chased Yuffie out of the room, Godo stopped outside the door as Yuffie ran off and disappeared. Godo walked back into the room and stood with his back to the group breathing deeply trying to hold on to whatever dignity he had left.

"I can see where Yuffie gets her temper and stubbornness from…" Zack muttered barely above a whisper so that Godo couldn't hear him, Cloud nodded in agreement.

Godo turned back round again and glared at the group, "take your things and get out of here now," he commanded as calmly as he could. "To protect Wutai, we cannot afford to stand up to the Shinra."

Not wishing to be told twice the group left the room and walked out of the mansion, "wow…" Tifa spoke up as soon as they were safely out of the mansion. "I never knew Yuffie's father was a lord."

"She never told us," Zack stated, "just like she never told us that she was intending to steal our materia."

"I'm sorry," Aerith apologised as she hung her head sadly, "I should've realised."

"You trusted her," Tifa reassured Aerith, "we all did."

"Well, we're not gonna get our materia back just standing here," Cloud stated as he leapt off the steps and turned back to face the group, "let's get going." The group left the courtyard and found themselves back in the main town, they crossed a bridge to another part of the town and they entered a building where an old man was sat on a mat and a young boy was stood next to him.

"Oh no…" The boy moaned when he saw the group, "more weirdoes…"

"Weirdoes…" Zack repeated the last word the boy said.

"These aren't the people that came in here before," the old man stated as he tried to console his grandson. "Although they do look a little strange."

"What are we going to do gramps?" The boy asked his grandfather in desperation, "Some strange looking girl came in here a while ago and I…" But the boy never finished his sentence, however it was all the group needed to here.

"Strange looking girl…" Red mused, "Maybe she's still here."

"Only one way to find out," Cloud replied, he looked to his left and he spotted a screen. "Hmmm…I wonder," Cloud thought out loud as he walked over to the screen and pulled it back to reveal Yuffie hidden behind it in a sitting position. Cloud smirked as Yuffie looked up and saw him.

"Huh…" She spoke up in shock as she realised that her hiding place had been rumbled, before Cloud could do or say anything Yuffie darted to her feet and ran out of the house as fast as she could. The group ran out of the house to try and catch up with her, they made their way back to the Turtle's Paradise tavern where they saw a large pot vase outside the building shaking slightly.

"Hmmm…odd…" Zack stated as he stared at the vase, "I've never seen a vase do that before…unless…"

"What are you getting at?" Aerith asked as the drag human grinned.

"I think I know where Yuffie's hiding," Zack answered, "Cloud, Tifa, can you two block the bridges?"

"Why?" Tifa asked.

"If Yuffie tries to pull a fast one she won't be able to escape," Zack replied, Cloud and Tifa nodded and ran to the bridges as Zack knelt down and pressed his ear against the vase while tapping it with his clawed fingers.

"Just as I thought," Zack stated, "I can hear her breathing, now it's just a case of luring her out." Zack stood up and retracted his claws back into his fingers as he balled one of his hands into a fist and pulled it back before it shot forwards at lightning speed and struck the vase smashing it and revealing a dazed Yuffie inside it. Yuffie quickly came round and leapt to her feet before Zack could grab her, she ran to the bridge straight ahead of her but her path was blocked by Tifa. Yuffie than ran to the bridge to her right but again her escape route was blocked by Cloud, Yuffie took a few paces back and found herself completely surrounded by the group.

"End of the line missy," Cid stated triumphantly as he pointed his spear at Yuffie, "you ain't goin' anywhere."

"You can't get away this time Yuffie," Cloud told her as he and the rest of the group glared at her and it was at that moment that Yuffie knew she was beaten.

O…ok…" Yuffie stammered making no further attempts to escape, "I know…I was wrong…you win…I'll give you back your materia." Yuffie walked across the bridge that Cloud had blocked off a few seconds ago and the group followed her, as the group left two Shinra guards ran across the other bridge and ran into the Turtle's Paradise tavern.

"Sir!" One of the soldiers yelled as they both approached the table the three Turks were sitting at. "The reports were true, he is here on vacation, we've finally found him!" He explained, "We need the Turks for back up."

Reno sighed irritably as he finished his drink, "what a drag…" he muttered irritably as he glared at the soldiers.

"W…what was that?" The second soldier demanded as he stared at Reno.

Reno sighed again, "Right now we're off duty," Reno grumpily informed them refusing to get out of his seat nevertheless he glared daggers at the two soldiers who had disturbed him. "And we can't run off to clean up your mess every time!"

"But…" The first soldier started to speak up but Reno raised up a hand to silence him.

"If you lot had have just done your job in the first place then we wouldn't have a rogue experiment running wild," Reno informed the soldiers of their past mistakes.

"We're aware of that sir," the second soldier stated, "and we know you're off duty but…"

"Well if you knew that then stop botherin' us and get the hell outta here!" Reno snapped irritably as he grabbed his next bottle, "lookin' at your ugly mugs is makin' me sober." Reno added as he opened the bottle and took a swig out of it hoping to get drunk again.

"But you have orders to look for him too…" The second soldier tried to reason with Reno, however the Turk refused to move and he took another swig from his bottle clearly ignoring what the soldier had said. "Fine! The soldier yelled irritably as he glared at Reno, "we get the hint, we'll get him without the Turks help! You'll see!"

"Good luck with that!" Reno retorted as he raised his bottle in a mock toast to them, the soldiers scowled at Reno.

"And don't think HQ isn't gonna here about this!" The soldier who had spoken first snapped as both the soldiers stormed out of the tavern, Elena stared at Reno.

"They do have a point," Elena stated agreeing with the two soldiers, "That wasn't exactly a professional attitude."

Reno laughed when he heard that, "Elena, you're a smart woman," Reno complimented the blonde haired woman, "but you gotta understand that a pro isn't someone who sacrifices themselves for their job…only a fool does that," Reno added, "we're not all workaholics like Tseng."

"Well maybe you should take more responsibility!" Elena snapped.

"It's true though," Reno replied in a defensive tone, "even a Turk has to relax once in a while."

Elena scowled at Reno for a second before she turned to her other colleague, "Rude…" She started to ask hoping that Rude would agree with her.

"Don't ask me," was all the bald man said before he finished his beer.

"I don't believe you two!" Elena snapped as she glared at Reno and Rude, "no wonder no one relies on the Turks anymore!" Elena stood up, "well I don't care what you two say, I'm gonna capture him with or without your help!" Without another word Elena stormed out of the tavern, Reno and Rude watched the woman leave before they shrugged at each other.

"Do you think we should follow her?" Rude asked.

"Nah…" Reno replied as he leaned back in his chair, "Elena's not a child, she can make her own decisions," Reno stated as he finished his bottle. _"She's stubborn and she's hot when she gets angry…damn it Reno! Pull yourself together!" _Reno shook his head trying to get the thoughts of Elena out of his mind, he looked at Rude, "looks like it's your round buddy," he stated as he lifted up his empty bottle. Rude sighed as he walked over to the bar.

Meanwhile in another part of town, Yuffie had lead the group into what looked like an apartment building, the room was medium sized and was spit into two rooms by a screen, on the other side of the screen was a single futon and along the wall was a set of stairs leading to the basement. "I know, the materia right?" Yuffie asked the group continued to glare at her. "I have it stored in a safe place, follow me."

Yuffie led the group down the stairs and they entered the basement, the basement was slightly larger than the room upstairs although it was fairly damp and not very well kept. The group entered the large rectangular room and Yuffie was stood in a corner of the room.

"I've been hearing that ever since I was little, before I was even born that Wutai was a lot more crowded and important, "Yuffie started to explain a hint of sadness in her voice hoping to get a sympathy vote. "You saw what it looks like now right?" She asked the group as she moved away from the corner, "just a resort town…after we lost the war, we got peace, but with that we lost something else…" Yuffie sighed sadly. "And now look at Wutai," Yuffie moved towards the door she had her back to the group not wanting to look at them. "That's why…" she explained her reason for stealing the materia, "if I had lots of materia I could…" Yuffie buried her face in her arms and started to sniffle.

"I feel awful," Aerith stated as she cast a guilty look at Yuffie.

"Aerith, you're not serious are you?" Zack demanded as he stared at Aerith in shock.

"Just look at her Zack," Aerith replied as she pointed at the crying ninja, "she's upset, we can't be mad at her now."

"Aerith, she stole our materia," Zack reasoned with the Cetra as he pointed at Yuffie, "she was planning it from the start and now you're gonna feel sorry for her just because she tells you a sob story…well I'm not!" Zack marched up to Yuffie and grabbed hold of her. "Yuffie! We don't give a rat's ass about what happened to Wutai, we just want what's ours!"

"Cool it Zack," Cloud walked up to the drag human and pulled him off Yuffie, Yuffie backed away slightly and buried her face in her arms again. "Yuffie, look…if you tell us where our materia is…we'll drop the whole thing."

"Fuck man!" Cid yelled at Cloud, "You ain't serious!"

Cloud ignored Cid, "We just want our materia back Yuffie," Cloud reasoned with the ninja, "if you give it to us, we'll carry on like it never happened."

Yuffie nodded but she still refused to look at the group, "I…I know that…" she stammered in between sniffles, "that switch…the lever on the left…the materia…is in there…" Zack and Cloud looked to the back of the room and they saw two levers on the far wall. The two men re-entered the room, Zack walked up to the two levers.

"Are you sure it's the one on the left?" The drag human asked as he examined the two levers wondering if Yuffie had given him the right instructions. Yuffie nodded silently neither lifting her head up nor turning round to look at Zack. _"Yuffie gave up so easily when we caught her…this could be a trap…"_

"Will you hurry up and pull the damn lever?!" Cid demanded impatiently glaring at Zack and tapping his foot on the floor irritably. "You're just as slow as Shera!" Zack shook his head and rolled his eyes as he finally pulled the left lever.

The control panel flashed red as a mechanism activated, Zack looked to his left and he saw a rope to the side of the lever panel moving rapidly. "What the…" Zack muttered he leapt quickly to the side as a large cage fell from the ceiling trapping his friends.

"The hell is this?!" Barret yelled as he shook the bars of the cage trying to get out.

"We're trapped!" Tifa shouted as she kicked at the cage trying to break through it with little success, the group looked around them confused at what was happening.

"Ha, ha, ha!" The group heard laughter behind them, they turned round and they saw Yuffie stood at the entrance, her head was held high and she showed no signs of crying.

"So this was a trap…" Zack muttered, he was breathing deeply and seething in anger. He had balled his hands into fists and his tail arched high and menacing over his back. Yuffie nodded as her grin grew wider, "you set us up!"

"YOU BITCH!" Tifa yelled at the top of her lungs as she struggled frantically to get out of the cage, wanting to grab hold of Yuffie so badly. However the ninja just watched with an amused smile on her face.

"Never trust anyone so easily," she warned as she waggled her finger mocking at the group. "The materia's mine! Too bad!" Yuffie blew the group a mock kiss as she turned round and left the room, she was about to run up the stairs when she thought of something and turned back. "You want your materia?" She asked playfully as the group continued to glare at her.

"You know we do…" Cloud responded through gritted teeth, "now tell us where it is!"

"Hmmm…" Yuffie uttered as she pretended to think about it before she grinned again, "no."

"No…" Red growled shocked at what Yuffie had said.

"WHADDYA MEAN NO!?" Barret snapped as he shook his fist at Yuffie, "JUST YOU WAIT TILL I GET OUT OF HERE! THERE AIN'T GONNA BE SHIT LEFT BY THE TIME I'M FINISHED!" Barret threatened as Yuffie yawned.

"That's the best you can come up with…" Yuffie asked mockingly as she smirked at Barret, "come on Barret, even you can do better than that."

"Yuffie…either tell us where the materia is or I'll rip out your vocal cords…" Zack hissed menacingly as he continued to glare at Yuffie with his yellow cat like eyes and he flexed his muscles.

"You want your materia back…go find it yourself you scaly bastard!" Yuffie retorted if she was scared of Zack's threat she showed no sign of it.

Zack growled under his breath as he felt something inside him snap, he bared his teeth at Yuffie and his claws sprang out. "Uh oh…" Cloud muttered under his breath as he cast a worried look at his friend, "I think Yuffie struck a nerve…"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!" Zack yelled at the top of his lungs, the hairs on the back of his neck bristled, a clicking sound could be heard as the spear at the end of Zack's tail opened.

"Y…you heard me..." Yuffie answered back trying to sound confident however she couldn't help but be a little nervous at the sight of the drag human who was finding it increasingly difficult to control himself. "I'm not gonna repeat myself, just remember when you're looking for the materia, you gotta steel it!" Yuffie advised in a mocking tone as she doubled over laughing. "Heh, heh…STEEL…steel…you get it?! Ah ha…Aaaaahhhhh!" Yuffie screamed, she ducked just in time as an ice ball was launched at her and hit the wall behind where her head was and it shattered into pieces. Yuffie stood up and stared at Zack who's hands glowed blue as he created another ice ball and preparing to throw it at her. "I'm outta of here!" Yuffie yelled in a frightened tone. "C ya!" Yuffie took a few steps back before she scarpered.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE! I AIN'T EVEN FINISHED WITH YOU YET!" Zack yelled after Yuffie as he charged to the room's exit hoping to catch Yuffie but the ninja had already ran up the stairs and left the building. "Damn it!" Zack cursed as he made a fist sized hole in the wall, he turned round and started to run up the stairs.

"Zack!" Aerith called out the drag human's name causing him to stop, he leapt down the steps and ran back into the room. "You're not going to leave us in this cage are you?" Aerith asked as she gave Zack a pleading look.

"Eh he…" Zack laughed weakly as he ran a hand through his hair, "sorry about that," he apologised as he walked up to the panel and pushed the lever back up, the screen flashed from on to off and the cage rose up to the ceiling freeing Zack's captured friends.

"That's better," Tifa sighed with relief as the group stretched, "I can move again, now let's find that bitch so we can get our materia back." The group ran out of the room and back up the stairs to the main area of the building, the group left the building and found themselves outside again, Yuffie was nowhere to be seen.

"That…Yuffie…sure is…givin' us…the run around…" Barret uttered between breaths as he stood there panting. "I don't think…I can…go on…much longer…" Barret continued to complain, Tifa shook her head as she walked passed him.

"As soon as all this is over you're going on a diet," Tifa commanded as she gave Barret a no nonsense look. The man with the gun arm stared at Tifa in shock.

"A…d…diet…" He stammered hardly daring to believe what he was hearing.

"Yes a diet," Tifa repeated what she said before still giving Barret that don't argue with me look, "that way, you won't get so tired so quickly." Tifa turned round and the group carried on walking, Barret scowled at the back of Tifa's head before he reluctantly followed.

"You got burned big style!" Cid laughed at Barret as the man with the gun arm glared at the pilot.

"You ain't exactly in tip top condition either!" Barret retorted, Cid merely shrugged, he took out a cigarette and lit it. Cid was about to put the cigarette in him mouth when Aerith walked up to him snatched the cigarette out of his hand, Aerith threw it on to the ground and crushed it under her foot causing Cid to stare at her in shock.

"The hell did you do that for?!" Cid demanded as he glared at Aerith.

"I told you this was a none smoking trip," Aerith stated calmly as she twisted her foot one more time causing the cigarette to break in two. Cid continued to glare at Aerith but the Cetra ignored him.

"I'll give you a none smoking trip you pink clad bitch…" Cid muttered under his breath, whether Aerith heard the pilot's insult or not no one was sure but she chose to ignore it. The group crossed the bridge and entered the part of town where the mansion was, they turned to their left and they saw what looked like a shrine. The group walked up the steps and looked around, but all they could see was a giant gong. "This is just fuckin' ridiculous!" Cid grumbled as the group examined the gong.

"Hmmm…I wonder what would happen if we hit this gong…" Aerith mused as she continued to examine it.

"Only one way to find out," Zack answered as he grabbed Cait Sith by the neck, dragged him off the pink Mog straightened him out before the drag human pulled Cait Sith back and slammed him into the gong. The gong made a loud sound and vibrated through the ground, Zack dropped Cait Sith to the ground, the cat staggered as he struggled to stand.

"Wwwwhhhhhhhhaaaaatttt…dddddiiiiiidddddd…yyyyyyooooooooouuuuu…ddddddoooooo…tttttthhhhhhhaaaaaaaaattttt…ffffooooooorrrrrr…" Cait Sith demanded, his voice vibrated heavily as he fell to the floor. The Mog hesitated for a second before it picked Cait Sith up and held the cat in its arms until Cait Sith had recovered enough to climb back on to the Mog's back.

"There was nothing to hit the gong with," Zack answered calmly, he looked behind the gong and he saw a stick that was used to hit a gong. "Oh wait…" Zack continued as he picked up the stick, "there was something to hit the gong with…" Cait Sith glared at Zack but before the cat could say anything the group heard a loud rumbling sound, the group ran down the steps just as a door appeared in the wall of the Shrine.

"Good work Zack," Cloud complimented the drag human as he patted him on the shoulder. The group looked at the door, "let's go," Cloud commanded as he pushed the door open and walked through. The group followed and they found themselves in a dark corridor, they walk down the corridor and as they did they could hear voice coming from a room ahead of them.

""Let go! I SAID let go!" A shrill female voice that sounded familiar to the group echoed through the corridor.

"That sounds like Yuffie," Zack whispered as the group picked up speed and ran into what looked like a store room where they saw a man in a suit holding Yuffie who was kicking and screaming.

"Hey who do you think I…" Yuffie started to demand but the man hit her in the face. "OW! Yuffie cried out in pain, "What are ya doin…jerk!" Yuffie screamed as she continued to struggle against the man, but the man was too strong for her. He dragged Yuffie further into the room, the group ran after the man and stared upwards in shock as they saw a familiar face.

"You!?" Cloud yelled hardly daring to believe what he was seeing, the man on the stairs laughed evilly as he walked down the steps coming out of the shadows to reveal a blond haired man in his late 30s early 40s he was wearing a red suit and he was grinning insanely.

"Hohi…Hohi…" The man laughed again, as the group except for Red, Cait Sith, Vincent and Cid recognised the man.

"Corneo!" Zack yelled as he glared at the man stood in front of him, Zack remembered all the past dealings he had had with Corneo back in his SOLDIER days and he shuddered as renewed hatred for the man surged through his veins. Corneo stared at the drag human for a second and his eyes grew wide with shock as he took a closer look at Zack and he realised who the drag human was.

"I remember you," Corneo replied as he took another step, "you arrested me countless times…"

"What you were doing was illegal!" Zack snapped growing more repulsed by Corneo, Corneo merely grinned.

"Not that it matters," the perverted man continued, "I've got myself a new chicky!" He exclaimed excitedly, "Two for one in fact! Hohi!"

"Two…" Tifa asked looking confused, "who's the second girl?" Corneo pointed further up the stairs to show another one of his lackeys holding on to a blonde haired woman who was struggling against her captor.

"Elena…" Cloud and Zack asked at the same time as they stared at the struggling woman.

"H…Hey!" Elena yelled as she kicked and punched the man trying to escape, "let go of me! You're gonna regret this!" Elena threatened, the man holding her merely laughed and he ran through a door at the top of the steps dragging Elena with him, he was closely followed by the man who was holding Yuffie.

"Hohi…hohi…hooooohhhhiiii!" Corneo laughed in his stupid way before he ran up the steps and followed his lackeys out of the room. The group ran after Corneo and found themselves back in Godo's mansion again.

"What do ya know…" Red spoke up as the group started to walk through the hallway of the manor, "that tunnel was a shortcut to the mansion."

"Come on!" Cloud demanded urgently as the ex SOLDIER picked up speed, "we gotta find Corneo so we can get our materia back!"

"Who was that man anyway?" Vincent asked as the group ran out of the manor and back into the court yard.

"A pervert who kidnaps young girls and forces them to marry him," Zack answered, Vincent nodded as he stroked his shot gun. The group left the mansion's courtyard and found themselves back in the main town again, where they spotted two men wearing suits stood talking. "Isn't that Reno and Rude?" Zack questioned as he walked towards the Turks, the others followed him. "What's going on?" Zack asked as he approached the Turks, Reno and Rude turned round to face the group.

"Corneo has taken Elena," Rude answered in his usual taciturn manner.

"Yeah…that Corneo is good at escaping," Reno added as he gave the group a serious expression as opposed to his usual relaxed manner.

"We just saw him," Cloud stated, "he took Yuffie too, and without her there's no way we can get our materia back…"

"What do you mean?" Reno questioned curiously, Cloud with some help from the others explained everything that had happened up to that point. "I see…" Reno mused as he stroked his chin, "this changes everything…"

"What do you mean?" Zack asked as he stared at Reno with his cat like eyes, Reno merely laughed.

"If Elena and Yuffie are in Corneo's hands," Reno stated as he paced up and down, "that's just gonna make the situation even more complicated than it already is…" The group stared at Reno and the Turk laughed again, "Look…we want Elena back and you want Yuffie and your materia back, we wouldn't normally do this. But…I think it's best that we join forces for now."

"How do we know you won't betray us when you have Elena back?" Zack demanded as he gave Reno a sceptical stare.

Reno sighed, "Zack, you're on the Shinra's most wanted list, and although this comes as a complete surprise to you, you're not high up on our list of priorities right now."

"I know…Tseng kept saying…" Zack muttered rolling his eyes causing the Turk to glare at him.

"Look do we have a deal or not?" Reno asked irritably as he held his hand out for Cloud to shake. Cloud thought for a moment he looked at his team mates and back to the two Turks again. Cloud sighed, he knew that Reno was right, it was better if they joined forces for now. Cloud reached his hand up and the two men shook hands, Reno grinned, "excellent, now, we saw Corneo heading towards the Da Chao mountain," Reno informed the group as he pointed at the mountain that was towering above the town. "That would be the best place to go I think."

"Sounds like a good plan," Cloud agreed as the group accompanied by the two Turks walked through the miniature forest and back into the other part of town, they crossed the bridge and followed the trail that led to the mountain. As the group got closer to the mountain they saw statues of people carved into the stone wall.

"Hmmm…a mountain made up of statues…" Red mused as he took a close look at one of the statues as the group climbed up the trail. "I heard about this mountain, it really is fascinating."

"It's a pissin' mountain!" Cid exclaimed as he stared at the Red beast in disbelief, "a pissin' mountain with funny lookin' statues carved into it!"

"You obviously have no respect for other cultures!" Red snapped back as he glared at Cid.

"Please don't argue…" Aerith pleaded with her two friends, "we came here to save Yuffie and Elena."

"Fuck Yuffie!" Cid yelled as Barret and Vincent nodded in agreement, "we just want our damn materia back!"

Reno shook his head trying hard not to laugh, "Man, no wonder you guys don't get any work done…" Reno remarked, Cloud glared at Reno so the Turk cleared his throat. "Me and Rude will search one side of the mountain, you guys search the other," Reno changed the subject as he and Rude took one path and Cloud and the others took another path. They eventually reached a giant arm where Corneo was stood, the group saw Yuffie and Elena tied to the side of the mountain.

"Corneo!" Cloud yelled the man's name so suddenly that Corneo turned round and leapt back in surprise as he saw the group glaring at him.

"W…what…" Corneo stammered hardly daring to believe it, "wh…who goes there?"

"GUYS!" Yuffie yelled excitedly as she saw her friends, "Am I glad to see you, get me down from here!" Yuffie demanded as she struggled against her bonds.

"First we want our materia!" Zack yelled up at the ninja as he glared at her.

"I don't have it!" Yuffie stated truthfully, "but I kept it in a safe place and I'll give it you back, just please get me down!"

"Let them go Corneo!" Cloud demanded as he continued to glare at the man.

"He can have the brat!" Barret added causing the captured ninja to scowl at him but Barret ignored her glare and continued. "We just want our materia!"

"Hey!" Yuffie yelled at Barret, "I resent that!"

"You're just a pervert!" Tifa screamed at Corneo not forgetting that the man tried to make a pass at her, "and your breath reeked when you tried to kiss me!"

"Tifa…TMI!" Zack yelled in a disgusted tone as he covered his mouth.

"Shut up!" Corneo snapped as his expression became more serious, "you don't know how much I've suffered since then…" Corneo continued melodramatically as he turned away from the group, the group gave each other blank stares. "It's a long story but…" Corneo started to explain.

"Stop being so melodramatic!" Vincent snapped repulsed by the man, he stroked his shotgun again. "It's pathetic, just let Yuffie and Elena go!"

Corneo turned round to face the group again and a smile crept back on to his face, "so you guys are serious…" he spoke in his usual manner again, "good, good…" He put his arms behind his back, "I'm not kidding either, why did you kill my little Aps?" Corneo demanded as he glared at the group.

"Aps…" Zack questioned as he stared at Cloud, Tifa and Aerith.

"A sewer monster underneath the Wall Market," Aerith whispered in Zack's ear, Zack nodded to show that he understood.

"I'm gonna make you PLAY with my new pet!" Corneo continued as he grinned at the group, "So you can't get in the way of my search for a bride!" Corneo brought his hands out from behind his back to reveal a strange looking flute, it was in the shape of a dragon head and it had numerous holes in it. Corneo brought the instrument to his lips and played a strange tune on it. The group stared at Corneo wondering what he was playing, however Zack was kneeling on the floor covering his pointed ears with his hands letting out a pained roar as the notes cut through him.

"Zack are you ok?" Aerith asked as she knelt down beside Zack, her voice was filled with concern.

The tune Corneo was playing suddenly stopped and Zack was able to stagger to his feet, "I'm fine…" Zack answered confused at why he could hear that tune, "did you guys hear that?" Zack asked as he stared at his friends.

"No," Aerith answered as the group shook their heads, "we didn't hear anything."

"It could be that the frequencies and wave lengths in the flute were designed specifically for dragons," Red theorised. "It's the same principle as dog whistles." Zack was about to answer but a loud roar echoed through the whole mountain causing Zack to close his mouth again. The group looked up to the sky to see a large dragon like creature flying towards them, the group could hear the beat as the dragon flapped its powerful wings. The dragon flew towards the giant stone arm and it hovered above Corneo.

"Get them!" Corneo ordered, the dragon roared and flew towards the group with its claws outstretched, the group ducked as the dragon swooped over them. The dragon swerved in the air and turned back round again firing a jet of flames at the group, the group staggered slowly to their feet and they stared up at the dragon.

"There's no way we can get to it while it's up there…" Tifa stated as the dragon flew back down for a second attack. The dragon swooped down and fired several fireballs at the group before swooping closer to the group grabbing Aerith in its claws and flying up again.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Aerith screamed at the top of her lungs as the dragon continued to carry her upwards.

"AERITH!" Zack yelled as he looked up to see Aerith being held captive by the dragon, the dragon hovered in midair and roared triumphantly causing Zack to growl under his breath. Without thinking Zack ran to the edge of the mountain and leapt off it much to the shock and horror of his friends, a few seconds later Zack emerged over the edge of the mountain and took off after the dragon.

"I forgot he could fly…" Tifa stated as the group ran to the edge and watched the scene above them. "We should do something…"

"What can we do?" Cloud asked, "We can't attack the thing while it's in the air, the only people who can attack it from a distance are Barret and Vincent, and we can't risk it…not while that thing has Aerith."

The dragon saw Zack coming, it flapped its wings and soared higher into the air carrying its captive with it. Aerith hid her face in her hands too afraid to look down. "Shit!" Zack cursed he flapped his wings faster and chased after the dragon. Zack breathed in deeply and fired a jet of flames at the dragon, the dragon quickly swerved to the left avoiding Zack's attack. Zack breathed fire at the dragon again but it swerved to the right before turning its head round launching a fire attack of its own. Zack quickly swerved left and right to dodge the attacks, the drag human performed a loop de loop in midair forming fireballs in his hands and throwing them at the dragon. The dragon swerved this way and that, even Aerith had to dodge as some of the fireballs narrowly missed her.

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE AIMING!" Aerith screamed at the top of her lungs as she dodged the fifth fireball.

"_Damn!" _Zack thought to himself as he tried to form a plan, _"If I just keep throwing fireballs in all directions I'm gonna end up hitting Aerith…I need to get closer." _Zack flapped his wings again to increase his speed, the dragon sent fireballs flying at Zack but the drag human dodged them easily. Zack lunged at the dragon his clawed hands outstretched, the dragon tried to snap at Zack with its jaws but Zack was too quick for it, he quickly flew upwards and landed on the dragon's back digging his claws deep into the dragon's flesh.

The dragon roared in pain as it shook itself trying to get Zack off it but the drag human refused to let go, Zack shifted his body weight slightly slowly pulling the dragon to the ground. Zack moved slowly along the dragon's back to its underbelly, Zack climbed on to the claws that had Aerith in and he saw the Cetra struggling to get the claws to loosen their grip but they were too strong. "Zack, get me out of here!" Aerith yelled desperately Zack thought for a moment before prying Aerith out of its claws Aerith climbed onto Zack's back as the drag human clawed his way up to the dragon's back.

"I hope you're not squeamish!" Zack yelled to Aerith as clawed along the dragon's back towards its left wing, the dragon roared in pain and flapped its wings faster in panic.

"What are you…" Aerith was about to ask but she flinched as she heard a ripping sound followed by a pained screech. Aerith opened her eyes to see that the dragon's left wing had been ripped cleanly off the dragon's body, Zack grinned as he looked at the severed wing before he threw it away. Zack and Aerith flinched as they felt the dragon lose altitude. The dragon flapped its remaining wing frantically trying to stay up, the group saw this scene from the mountain.

"They're gonna crash!" Tifa yelled as she covered her eyes not even daring to look.

"What the hell did Zack think he was doing?!" Cloud demanded as he stared in shock as the dragon continued to lose control. Vincent grinned as he watched, "Vincent…why are you grinning?" Vincent pointed upwards at the scene above.

Tifa lowered her arms and stared at Vincent who was still grinning, "How can you enjoy seeing that?!" The dark haired woman asked as she pointed up at the violence above.

Vincent shrugged, "I've seen enough violence to last me a lifetime," Vincent answered calmly, "It has no affect on me."

Tifa sighed as she looked back up at the severely wounded dragon, _"I hope Zack and Aerith will get out of this ok…" _Tifa thought to herself concerned for her two friends.

Meanwhile back in the sky the dragon roared in pain as its remaining wing was torn off by Zack, Zack (while carrying Aerith on his back) leapt off the dragon's back and opened his wings quickly as the dragon fell towards the earth. Vincent and Barret saw their chance and riddled the beast's body with bullets as it plummeted to the ground below. A ball of energy formed in the barrel of Barret's gun, Barret released the powerful energy beam which exploded as it struck the dragon critically wounding it. The group felt the mountain they were stood on tremble as the dragon crashed into the side of the mountain and slid down the mountain side and landed with a thud on the giant arm behind the group.

Vincent walked calmly up to the now wingless and severely wounded dragon, Vincent took the shotgun out of its holster and he pointed it at the dragon's face so that the tip of the barrel was touching the dragon's nose. Vincent pulled the trigger and the shotgun fired with a loud bang blowing the dragon's head cleanly off blood splattered on the mountain side and on to Vincent's clothing, the group stared at Vincent in shock. The dark haired man turned round and shrugged, "I was just making sure…" He answered calmly as he spun the shotgun round once and put it back into its holster just as Zack landed back on the mountain carrying Aerith.

"Are you ok?" Zack asked as Aerith slid off Zack's back and back on to solid ground.

"I'm fine," Aerith replied as she nodded her head and smiled at Zack, "I'm just glad to be back on solid ground again."

"The dragon didn't hurt you did it?" Zack questioned as he started to check Aerith over for wounds.

"No," Aerith answered, she wrapped her arms round Zack and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for saving me though," she replied gratefully, "I really thought I was gonna die."

"You're welcome," Zack stated as he smiled at Aerith, "And I'd never let that happen, I'd rather die myself than let you die."

"Errr…guys…" Cloud cut in causing Zack and Aerith to break apart, "we've still gotta deal with Corneo…" Cloud stated reminding them of what they were on the mountain to do.

"Oh yeah…" Zack replied as he grinned evilly at Corneo and cracked his knuckles, "we've still got some unfinished business to take care of." The group advanced towards Corneo preparing to kill him, Corneo took a few steps back towards the edge of the mountain.

"W…wait…" Corneo stammered as he stared in shock at the group, "just wait a second…"

"SHUT UP!" Cloud snapped at Corneo as he pointed his sword at the man.

"Just hear me out…" Corneo continued trying to buy himself some more time, "this won't take long…why do you think a bad guy like me would swallow his pride and plead for his life?" Corneo asked as he got down on his knees and buried his head in his arms.

"Gee…that's a trick question…" Zack muttered sarcastically, "maybe it's because you thought you'd win so badly…"

Corneo lifted his head up and grinned, "I can see you're not as dumb as you look," Corneo remarked as he stood up, "I guess I have no other choice…" Corneo's grin grew wider as he pushed a button on his belt, this caused Elena and Yuffie to rotate upside down.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Elena screamed as she looked down at the ground below her.

"YOU MAKE ME SICK!" Yuffie yelled at Corneo as she struggled frantically against her bonds.

"Take another step and all I have to do is push this other button on my belt, and we'll have squashed tomatoes! Hohi, hohi!" Corneo threatened as he pointed to a red button next to the one he had just pressed.

"Shit!" Cid cursed loudly.

"You're the lowest!" Aerith screamed at Corneo.

"So you're sick as well as perverted!" Zack shouted.

Corneo laughed manically as he brushed off the insults that were being thrown at him, "I guess I'm the one having the last laugh!"

"I don't think so!" A male voice yelled as Reno walked along the giant arm towards Corneo.

"What the…" Corneo yelled in shock as he staggered backwards and almost lost his balance, Corneo stared at Reno in shock. "The Turks…"

"You should've known this was gonna happen ever since you leaked out that secret," Reno warned as he pushed a long red strand of hair out of his face. The group stared at Reno, the Turk grinned for a second before his expression went all serious. "Now…we're going to take care of you…personally," Reno threatened as he cracked his knuckles.

Corneo gulped nervously as Rude came running up the opposite side of the mountain and threw a small round device at Corneo. The device landed on the ground next to him and exploded causing Corneo to completely lose his balance and fall off the cliff, Corneo reached out frantically and grabbed the edge of the cliff. Reno turned to look at Rude. "Perfect timing Rude, as usual," Reno complimented his comrade as Rude gave him a thumbs up sign and the bald Turk ran further up the cliff and made his way towards the rest of the group. Reno then walked right up to the edge of the cliff and put his foot on to Corneo's hand.

"Alright Corneo, this will be over in a second, why do you think we went through the trouble of teaming up with these guys just to get you?" Reno asked as he gestured towards Cloud and the others.

"Errr…because you guys were sure you'd win…" Corneo tried to answer.

Reno shook his head, "sorry, wrong answer," the Turk replied mockingly as he removed his foot and kicked Corneo's hands causing them to lose their grip.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Corneo yelled as he fell off the cliff and plummeted to the ground below with a loud thud.

"The correct answer was…"Reno started.

"…Because it's our job…" Rude finished Reno's sentence as he walked along the giant arm towards his friend.

"Oh…I knew you guys would come!" Elena yelled excitedly as she struggled against the metal straps pinning her to the side of the mountain. "Hurry up and get us down!"

Reno sighed as he shook his head, "Elena! You're a bloody Turk!" Reno yelled at Elena in a frustrated manner. "Don't act so weak!"

"Y…yes sir…" Elena stammered but she calmed down.

Reno's mobile phone rung, Reno reached into his pocket and grabbed his mobile. He pushed the button on the mobile and answered it. "Reno here…yeah…ok…I'll get right on it…" Reno stated before hanging up on the phone.

"Was that HQ?" Rude asked as Reno put his phone back in his pocket.

"Yeah," Reno answered nodding his head, "they want us to find Cloud," Reno informed Rude as the two Turks looked over at Cloud and the others who got into fighting stances.

"I guess this means it's time for round 3…" Zack stated with a sigh.

Reno shook his head, "Nah…today we're off duty…we're gonna let you guys go this once," Reno stated as the group started to relax. "But that's only a one off, next time we meet…we won't be so lenient."

"HEY!" Yuffie yelled at the top of her lungs causing everyone to look up at them, "ARE YOU GONNA GET US DOWN FROM OR WHAT?!"

The group then turned towards Zack, "Zack could you…" Aerith started to ask as she pointed towards Yuffie and Elena.

"What…why me?" Zack demanded as he glared at his friends.

"Well you're the best damn climber we've got," Barret answered as he pointed at Zack's hands, "so get your spiky ass up there!"

Zack looked from one person to the next and they all had the same pleading expressions on their faces. "Aaaaahhh…" Zack moaned in frustration as he walked towards the cliff wall his claws sprang out of his fingers. "Fine…I'll start climbing…" Zack gave in as he started to climb up the wall, he reached Elena and Yuffie, he ripped the metal straps holding Elena down from the wall causing the blonde haired Turk to fall towards the ground. Reno ran towards the cliff wall his arms outstretched and he caught Elena.

"Thanks Reno," Elena replied gratefully, Reno merely smiled as he eased Elena to the ground. "It's so good to be the right way up again."

Zack moved towards Yuffie and pulled her straps off the wall, Yuffie fell towards the ground and landed in Vincent's arms. Yuffie opened her eyes and saw that she was safe, "oh Vincent you saved me from falling to my death!" Yuffie sobbed hysterically as she wrapped her arms round Vincent's neck and buried her face in his shoulders, Vincent just stared at her too shocked to speak. "How can I ever thank you?"

Vincent moved his hands from under Yuffie causing her to fall to the ground and land on her back side, Yuffie rubbed her ass as she staggered to her feet, Vincent glared at her with his red eyes. "For starters don't ever hug me again…" Vincent muttered under his breath not taking his eyes off Yuffie, "it sickens me…"

"Ok…" Yuffie agreed, "Just stop glaring at me…" She pleaded as she took a few steps away from Vincent, the dark haired man sighed and he turned away from Yuffie.

"Well, our work here is done," Reno stated as he became aware of the tension between Yuffie and Vincent. The Turks started to walk off, but Reno stopped and turned round to face the group. "You guys had better keep training," Reno added as an after thought, "I'd hate for you to get sloppy." Reno grinned before the Turks walked away and started to leave the mountain.

Once the Turks had gone everyone turned their attention back to Yuffie, "Let me guess, the materia right?" Yuffie asked as the group nodded, "ok, follow me." Yuffie led them down the mountain and an hour later they were back in Yuffie's house again, Yuffie walked up to the wall of the bedroom and takes down a painting of Wutai off the wall to reveal a secret compartment. Yuffie reached into the compartment and pulled out Aerith's materia pouch and gave it back to Aerith. Aerith opened the pouch and looked through it, "what are you doing?" Yuffie asked as she watched Aerith search through the pouch.

"Just making sure all the materia is there," Aerith answered as she pulled her hands out of the pouch and closed it. "And nothing's missing, that's good," Aerith added as tied the materia pouch tightly round her waist.

"So I guess this means we can continue with our journey then…" Yuffie stated as she stared hopefully at the group.

"You're kidding right…" Zack demanded as he glared at Yuffie.

"Oh come on…" Yuffie pleaded.

"Cloud, if we go soft on her now she's just gonna steal our materia again!" Zack yelled as he pointed an accusing finger at Yuffie, the ninja scowled at Zack and placed her hands on her hips before turning her attention to Cloud.

"I won't steal, the materia I promise, just please let me come with you!" Yuffie begged as she got down on her knees and crawled up to Cloud grabbing hold of his leg.

Cloud sighed, he lifted his foot up and shook it causing Yuffie to lose her grip. "Fine…" Cloud gave in, "one more chance."

Yuffie smiled as she leapt to her feet, "oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" Yuffie yelled excitedly as she wrapped her arms tightly round Cloud's neck, Zack, Barret, Cid and Red smirked when they saw this.

"Yuffie…can't breathe…" Cloud choked as Yuffie quickly let go of him, Cloud coughed for a little while until he got his breath back. "If you pull another stunt like that again then you're off the team, you understand?" Cloud questioned as Yuffie nodded.

"I understand," Yuffie answered, "and you won't regret it."

"I hope not…" Cloud muttered as he gave Yuffie a suspicious stare before turning back to the others, "let's go," he commanded and one by one the group left the house, Zack approached Cloud and glared at him before he left.

"Cloud, are you nuts…" Zack demanded as he grabbed Cloud by the shoulders and shook him, "you're giving her another chance after everything she's done…"

"Everyone deserves a second chance Zack," Cloud responded calmly as he pulled himself out of Zack's grip.

"But…she could steal from us again…" Zack protested.

"Then I'll deal with her if she does," Cloud replied as Zack gave him a sceptical stare. "Trust me on this Zack."

"Oh I do trust you," Zack stated, "it's miss I have to steal every materia I see that I don't trust."

Cloud laughed at the expression on Zack's face, "Come on," he changed the subject, "let's go find the others." Cloud and Zack left the house to find that it was now evening, the sun had set and everywhere was closing for the night. They walked down the steps to see everyone waiting for them.

"We went over to the inn to get a couple of rooms, "Tifa informed the two men as they approached the group. "But they're fully booked."

"Hey I got an idea," Yuffie spoke up, "we could stay at my dad's place."

"You sure he won't mind?" Aerith asked as Yuffie shook her head.

"He won't mind," the ninja answered as she started to cross the bridge over the stream, she stopped and turned to see that everyone else hadn't followed her. "Come on!" She called out to them, "or don't you guys trust me?"

"I gotta admit, this is the first bloody good idea you've had all day!" Cid yelled to Yuffie as he followed her across the bridge. "Let's go!" The rest of the group crossed the bridge and they followed the Yuffie to Godo's mansion, when they reached the extravagant porch Yuffie held out a hand to stop them.

"Wait here," Yuffie instructed them as she walked up the steps and pushed the giant doors open and entered the mansion. The group crept up to the steps and Zack and Cloud put their ears close to the door to listen in.

"Come on dad, they really need a place to stay!" The group heard Yuffie pleading with her father wondering if Godo would cave in and let them stay for the night, given his performance when they were in the mansion earlier that day it seemed highly unlikely. "The inn's fully booked and it'll only be for the night."

"But you're friends are…" Godo started to protest but Yuffie was hearing none of it.

"Don't even say it!" Yuffie snapped at her father as she folded her arms and stamped her foot in frustration, "don't you dare say that they're affiliated with the Shinra cos they're not! If it wasn't for those guys my blood and guts would be splattered all over the Da Chao Mountain!"

"That's nice…" Zack muttered under his breath.

"Sssshhhhh…" Cloud uttered as he placed a finger on his lips and pointed to the door, "Let's just listen to what they have to say." For a while there was silence in the mansion neither Godo nor Yuffie were saying a word, rather Yuffie stared deep into her father's eyes refusing to back down. Godo seemed to be thinking about what to say but he was at a loss for words, this was the second time that day that his own daughter had stood up to him, in the end Godo sighed.

"Alright…" He gave in as Yuffie smiled, "your friends can stay here."

"Thanks dad!" Yuffie squealed as she ran up to Godo and hugged him tightly, "you're the best!"

"But for tonight only," Godo stated sternly as Yuffie released him, "When morning comes I want them gone."

"Don't worry dad," Yuffie reassured Godo as she walked back towards the front door and grabbed hold of the door handle, "a night is all we need, we'll be setting off again in the morning." Yuffie twisted the door handle causing Cloud and Zack to come away from the door they leaned against two pillars trying to look innocent as Yuffie opened the door and stepped out. "My dad said it was ok for you guys to stay, but he said we can only stay for the night."

"That's ok," Cloud stated as he pushed himself off the pillar, "one night is all we need right?" He asked as he smirked slyly at Yuffie.

"Eh he…" Yuffie laughed weakly, "you guys heard…"

"To be honest it was hard not to," Tifa answered as she stretched and yawned, "well let's get inside and sleep," Tifa suggested as she walked up to Yuffie, "it's been a long day."

"Yeah," Yuffie agreed as she stepped into the mansion and held the door open, "come on, I'll show you guys to your rooms." One by one the group started to enter the mansion and only Zack and Vincent were left outside.

"You're not thinking of turning in already are you?" Vincent asked, Zack was about to walk into the mansion but he stopped and turned round to look at Vincent.

"Well it has been a long day," Zack repeated what Tifa had said earlier, "and I did have a one on one fight with a giant dragon," Zack added as he ruffled his spiky hair.

Vincent chuckled, "I know," the raven haired man stated as a smile crept across his face. "I enjoyed watching you tear its wings off."

"I don't know who's more sick right now," Zack responded as he stared at Vincent, "Corneo for being a pervert or you for loving violence."

Vincent's grin grew wider, "so…are you up for another training session?" Vincent asked not taking his eyes off the drag human.

"Sure why not…" Zack replied as he moved away from the door and leapt from the top step to the ground landing perfectly on both feet. "You know me, I'm always up for a challenge."

"Good," Vincent stated as he started to walk away from the mansion, Zack followed, "because what I'm going to teach you next isn't easy." Vincent and Zack entered the main part of town and crossed the bridge to the Da Chao Mountain. The two men climbed the mountain trail and they eventually reached the very top of the mountain.

"Wow!" Zack exclaimed as he looked down at the brightly lit town below, "I can see the whole of Wutai from up here." Zack then looked up at the night sky and saw the moon glowing brightly and the stars flickering as if someone had just lit candles in the sky. "Looks like it's a full moon tonight," Zack commented as he turned round and smirked at Vincent, "I hope you're not a werewolf Vincent," Zack joked causing Vincent to scowl at him.

"Zack try to stay focused!" Vincent snapped at Zack as he walked away from the edge of the mountain, "We're here to train, not to sight see."

"Sorry," Zack apologised as he moved away from the edge and stood in front of Vincent focused and ready to train. "So what are you gonna teach me next?" Zack asked curiously as Vincent's scowl turned into a grin.

"All will be revealed Zack," Vincent answered as he tapped the side of his nose and walked away from Zack. "But first I want to recap on everything we did in the last training session. I want to see if you managed to remember everything you have learned."

"Ok…" Zack replied as he gave Vincent a confused stare, "what do you want me to do first?"

Vincent grinned as he looked over his shoulder at Zack, his red eyes flashed for a second. "Surprise me," was all Vincent said before a purple aura surrounded him and he changed into his Galian Beast form. Vincent turned round and got into a fighting stance, Zack did the same.

The beast and the drag human paced round each other before they charged at each other, Vincent pulled his clawed hands close to his chest as he formed a fireball in his hands and thrust it towards Zack. Zack however was ready for the attack and he quickly leapt to the side before launching two fireballs of his own at Vincent. Zack and Vincent charged at each other again a metallic clang echoed throughout the entire land as claws clashed with talons. The drag human and the beast kicked, punched, scratched and wrestled each other, each dealing powerful blows which could knock out or even kill normal opponents but Zack and Vincent's main aim wasn't to kill, not to mention that hard as they tried neither could get an effective blow in. Zack moved with much more speed and confidence than he did in the last training session and he used all the different techniques that he had learned to his advantage even catching Vincent off guard on a couple of occasions.

After two hours of fighting, Vincent (who had reverted to his normal form) and Zack were kneeling on the ground panting. After a while Vincent staggered to his feet, "not bad," Vincent commented as he held a hand out and helped Zack to his feet. "It would seem that the last training session wasn't a waste of time, now," Vincent lead Zack near the edge of the mountain. "What I'm going to teach you now requires a lot of mental discipline and concentration, there's a high chance you won't get it right first time. Are you sure you're up to it?" Vincent asked as Zack nodded, "Ok," Vincent continued, "now sit down and close your eyes."

"Like this?" Zack asked as he sat down on the ground with his eyes closed and his legs crossed.

"That's right," Vincent answered as he nodded his head, "now concentrate," Vincent instructed Zack, "visualise your human form, let its image fill your mind. Push all other thoughts out of your mind and focus."

Zack focused all his energy into visualising his human form, but he had been in drag human for so long now that Zack had almost forgotten what his human self looked like. Nevertheless he focused with all his might, Vincent stared as he saw Zack's skin change from purple to near flesh coloured. Unfortunately it only lasted for a few seconds and his skin changed back to purple. "Did it work?" Zack asked after a while and he opened his eyes and stood up excitedly to examine himself, but his excitement soon turned to disappointment when he saw that he was still in drag human form.

"You were close though," Vincent told Zack trying to sound encouraging but the drag human wasn't consoled.

"You're just saying that…" Zack replied dejectedly as he walked over to the edge of the mountain and sat down looking down at his purple hands.

"I wasn't just saying that," Vincent stated as he sat down next to Zack, "your skin went flesh coloured for a few seconds."

Zack snorted when he heard that, "That's not much is it?" He asked not even looking at Vincent.

"For a first try it is," Vincent stated again trying to be reassuring, "you did better than me, I couldn't even change my skin back to normal on my first attempt."

"Really…" Zack asked, finally looking up at Vincent.

"Really," Vincent answered truthfully, "to be able to change your skin colour on the first try is impressive. Like I said before, it takes a lot of mental concentration and practice. Hmmm…" Vincent thought for a while.

"What?" Zack questioned as he stared at Vincent.

"I was just thinking," Vincent answered as he looked back at Zack. "That maybe getting you to visualise your human form isn't enough at the moment, tell me, what do you cherish most?"

"That's easy," Zack replied as he looked up at the sky and memories of all the times he spent with Aerith, all the tender moments they had together. He remembered how he and Aerith first met and a smile crept across the drag human's face, how he missed those days when his life was a lot simpler and he didn't look like a monster. "Aerith…" Zack answered.

"I see…" Vincent uttered as he too looked up at the sky and thought about past memories, "I guess that's something else we have in common."

Zack turned his head round to stare at Vincent, "what do you mean?" He asked, intrigued by the man's last remark.

"I too met and fell in love with a beautiful woman," Vincent answered a hint of sadness in his voice.

"So what happened?" Zack questioned.

"She fell in love with someone else," Vincent replied he was looking away from Zack now, he could feel the tears burning in his eyes but he fought them back. "Lucrecia…" Vincent muttered the woman's name under his breath. "Why did you have to go through with it? Why did you have to break my heart?"

"You still love her don't you?" Zack asked Vincent, the dark man turned back round to face Zack.

"Yes," Vincent answered, "I suppose you can say I do." Zack snorted under his breath causing Vincent to glare at him. "What's so funny?" Vincent demanded.

"Poor Yuffie…" Zack answered trying hard to stifle his laughter, "what's she gonna think when she finds out you have the hots for another woman."

"I don't care for Yuffie or what she thinks," Vincent responded trying to remain as calm as possible but his blood red eyes still glared daggers at Zack.

"Is that why you saved Yuffie from falling to her death?" Zack questioned playfully as he gave Vincent a friendly dig in the arm.

"Well I…" Vincent stammered trying to think of an excuse, Zack grinned at Vincent he knew that he had got Vincent on the ropes. "Anyway…" Vincent quickly changed the subject, "do you still love Aerith?"

"More than anything," Zack replied as he leaned back and looked up at the stars. "Aerith's my whole world, when I went missing for five years, it was the thought of Aerith, the thought of seeing her again that kept me going." Zack explained his reasons for surviving everything that he survived through over the years, "and when I escaped from the Shinra building looking like this," he pointed to himself. "Again it was the thought of seeing Aerith again that kept me sane."

"Then use those thoughts to help you revert back to your human form," Vincent stated as Zack nodded. "Do you want to try again, or do you want to call it quits for tonight?" Vincent asked.

"I'm feeling a little tired," Zack answered as he let out a loud yawn. "I think I'll call it a night."

"Ok," Vincent replied nodding in agreement, "let's head back." Vincent and Zack stood up and were about to walk back down the trail into town, but Vincent stopped and he turned to face Zack. "Listen Zack, everything I said…I'd rather no one else knew about it, could you keep it quiet?" Vincent requested as Zack folded his arms and grinned smugly at Vincent.

"Don't worry," Zack reassured Vincent while trying hard not to laugh. "I won't tell our friends that you have the hots for Yuffie."

"I…" Vincent stuttered as Zack laughed at him, "that's not funny!" Vincent snapped at Zack who continued to laugh.

"Relax Vincent I was just kidding," Zack stated as Vincent continued to glare at Zack. "But seriously though, if you didn't care about Yuffie why did you save her?" Zack questioned, Vincent just shook his head and he started to walk off down the mountain trail. "Awww come on!" Zack called after Vincent as he ran to keep up with him, "it's a straight forward question…" Zack and Vincent walked down the mountain trail and they entered Wutai, they walked over two of the bridges and they soon entered the mansion's courtyard.

"Are you sure you're not gonna come in?" Zack asked as he stood at the door to the mansion, "It's a lot warmer inside."

"Thanks, but I'll be fine out here," Vincent replied, "You should get some sleep," Vincent advised as Zack yawned again.

"Yeah you're right," Zack agreed, "night Vincent."

"Night Zack," Vincent bade the drag human good night, Zack smiled at Vincent before he opened the door and entered the mansion. The entrance hall was dimly lit, but Zack was able to navigate through the corridors. He climbed the stairs and turned left, he walked down the corridor and as he passed one of the rooms he could hear soft muttering in the room on the other side. Zack pushed the door open and he crept into the room to see Aerith lying on a futon fast asleep, Zack crept quietly up to Aerith and knelt down beside her.

"I love you Aerith," He whispered in the Cetra's ear as he stroked her chestnut brown hair and smiled down at her. "You're my reason for living," he continued to whisper in Aerith's ear. "If anything ever happened to you…my life wouldn't be worth living." Zack kissed Aerith's forehead causing her to smile in her sleep, Zack smiled again as he stood up and crept slowly out of the room and closed the door gently behind him. He then walked further down the corridor until he came to another room, he pushed the door open and he saw that the room was empty. "I guess this is my room," Zack muttered sleepily as he walked over to the futon on the other side of the room, without bothering to remove his boots Zack lay down on the futon and he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

"Zack…" A female voice whispered in the drag human's ear the next morning.

"Uhhhhh…" Zack moaned in his sleep as his arms flailed in all directions trying to get the person disturbing him to go away. "Just five more minutes mum…"

"Zack, wake up!" The female voice yelled as Zack felt something shake him.

"Whoa!" Zack yelled as he sat up suddenly his eyes fluttering open and his claws sprang out of the slits in his fingers. "I'm awake!" Zack shouted as he searched frantically for the person who woke him up, Zack could hear laughing next to him, he turned to his left to see Aerith standing over him smiling.

"Morning sleepy head," she greeted cheerfully as Zack rubbed his eyes trying to focus.

"Aerith…" Zack mumbled still half asleep but he started to relax, "you almost gave me a heart attack."

Aerith giggled again, "sorry about that," Aerith apologised, "but I had to get you up somehow, everyone else is downstairs waiting."

"Oh…why didn't you say so?" Zack asked as he slowly staggered to his feet, "don't want to keep them waiting any longer." Zack and Aerith left the room and ran down the corridor.

"Did you come into my room last night?" Aerith asked, her tone wasn't accusary.

"Yeah," Zack answered as they approached the stairs, "why do you ask?"

"I heard someone talking in my ear," Aerith replied as she and Zack walked slowly down the stairs. "It sounded like your voice."

Zack ran his hand through his hair, "I just wanted you to know how much I loved you," he answered as Aerith smiled at him.

"You're so sweet Zack," Aerith stated as she kissed him on the lips. Zack smiled as he and Aerith jumped off the last step and entered the entrance hall where everyone was waiting.

"'bout time you showed up!" Barret yelled impatiently as Zack and Aerith joined the group.

"You guys missed breakfast," Tifa added as she finished putting all the breakfast things away.

"We'd have saved you some but a certain greedy bastard," Cid pointed at Barret as he said this causing the man with the gun arm to scowl at the pilot. "Ate mostly everything."

"Hey! Barret yelled as he pointed his gun arm at Cid, "I ain't a greedy bastard and you had more than your fair share."

"It's alright," Zack cut in before Cid had a chance to think of a comeback, "I can last a while without eating, and as much as I enjoy watching you two have a domestic, I think it's time we got going, we wasted enough time as it is."

"Hey I'm in charge here!" Cloud snapped as he glared at Zack, "Let's get going," Cloud commanded as he made his way to the door. "We've wasted enough time here."

"That's what I said!" Zack argued as Cloud opened the door and the group walked out of it, "you were just repeating what I said!"

"Guys don't start an 'I make a better leader than you argument''," Tifa spoke up, "let's just get going."

"He still repeated what I said though," Zack muttered as the group left the mansion courtyard.

"Change the record Zack!" Cloud yelled at the drag human, Zack sighed irritably but he fell silent. The group walked through Wutai and left the town, they slowly made their way back to the Tiny Bronco and after a couple of hours the group were back on the plane again.

"Where to now?" Yuffie asked as she stared at Cid who was sat in the pilot seat looking at a map.

"Hold ya horses!" Cid snapped at Yuffie as he kept turning the map round and looking at it from different angles. "I just need to figure out where we're going!"

"Hey, there's a weapon seller not too far away from Gongaga," Zack spoke up as he stood up and walked towards the pilot seat where Cid was sitting. "He's an old friend of mine, he knows all about myths and legends, maybe he could give us information about the Temple of the Ancients." Zack suggested as Cloud nodded his head.

"Well, that's the best idea we've got so far," Cloud stated, "Cid, can you find it on the map?" Cloud asked the pilot.

"Hold on!" Cid snapped as he fumbled with the map, "you said it was near Gongaga right?" Cid questioned as Zack nodded, "Gongaga should be further west."

"Errr…Cid…" Red started to say.

"What?!" Cid demanded as he looked over the map at the beast.

"You had the map the wrong way round," Red commented as he nudged the map with his nose.

Cid looked down at the map, "oh…" Cid uttered in realisation as he fumbled with the map again and turned it the right way round. "I meant that Gongaga was further east…Alright!" Cid shouted as he hit the ignition switch and the Tiny Bronco hummed to life. "Hold on tight, I'll get us there in no time." Everyone held on to whatever was available as the Tiny Bronco reversed from the beach, Cid tilted the controls causing the plane to do a u turn as it headed back to the Western Continent mainland and leading them closer to the answers they sought.

* * *

**Finally I completed the chapter, sorry it took so long but I'm back at uni now and I have a lot of work to do so I won't be able to post chapters as often as I did before. Don't worry, I'm still typing them up. Chapter 12 will be coming soon, just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy VII or it characters and content, they belong to Square Enix.**


	12. Match Making Game and a Cetra's Destiny

**Chapter 12: The Match Making Game and a Cetra's Destiny**

**Just to warn you beforehand that this chapter is long, so try to take regular breaks while reading it.**

It had been at least an hour or so since the group had left Wutai and were gradually making their way back to the Western Continent mainland. Everyone was sat on the Tiny Bronco either relaxing, having a conversation or even sleeping, Yuffie was lying flat on her stomach near the tip of the wing of the plane brushing her hand against the water's surface sighing to herself. "How much longer is this gonna take?" Yuffie complained as she turned her head to stare at Cid.

"Like I told ya the first 20 times, we'll get there when we bloody get there!" Cid snapped not even bothering to look at the ninja growing increasingly annoyed at Yuffie's constant whingeing. "Now quit yer whinin', I'm tryin' ter concentrate!" Cid shook his head as he continued to steer the Tiny Bronco towards Gongaga.

"I was only asking…" Yuffie responded in a hurt and offended tone while scowling at the pilot, "Besides, you don't need concentration to steer a busted plane over water."

"I'll bust you if you insult ma plane again!" Cid retorted in a snappy comeback as he grasped his spear with one hand, "the Tiny Bronco is my pride and joy and she's been of more use to us than you ever were now shut up or help me navigate!"

"Will you two be quiet…" Tifa hissed suddenly causing both the ninja and the pilot to fall silent and stare at the dark haired woman.

"Don't tell me to be quiet woman!" Cid yelled at Tifa as his look of surprise turned to an angry scowl, "The Tiny Bronco is ma plane which makes me the captain! So no one can tell me to be quiet!"

"And Cloud is the leader of Avalanche," Tifa retorted being careful to keep her voice down, "and right now he's fast asleep," Tifa pointed to Cloud who was lying flat on his back fast asleep, his head was resting on Tifa's knees. Tifa turned her attention back to the sleeping man and she brushed the blond forelocks out of Cloud's face, "isn't he cute…" Tifa murmured in a dream like voice as she ran a finger along Cloud's lips, Cid overheard Tifa and stared at her.

"Cute!" Cid shouted repeating the last word Tifa said, "You gotta be shittin' me! Are you tryin' to make me throw up?" Cid demanded still glaring at Tifa, however this just made the dark haired woman scowl even more at him.

"Sssshhhhh…" Tifa whispered vehemently at the pilot as she placed a finger on her lips and pointed at Cloud with her other hand, "you'll wake him up…besides, I wasn't even asking you."

"Well keep ya bloody thoughts to yerself then!" Cid snapped irritably at Tifa, "hey Yuffie…" Cid turned his attention on the ninja who looked up at Cid again, "catch!" Cid yelled as he threw the map at Yuffie, Yuffie sat up and stretched her arms out ready to catch the map. However a gust of wind caught the map and swept it into Yuffie's face.

"Hey…" Yuffie shouted in a muffled tone as she struggled to get the map off her face, Cid and Barret were laughing at her, Yuffie managed to get the map off her face and she glared at Barret and Cid. "That's not funny!" She snapped at the two men as they laughed even harder, "why did you throw the map at me?" Yuffie demanded as Barret and Cid stopped laughing.

"Make yerself useful for once!" Cid answered in a serious tone not taking his eyes off Yuffie, "Start navigatin'!" Yuffie grumbled unintelligibly as she turned the map round until it was facing the right way and she started to navigate, Cid continued to pilot the plane following Yuffie's directions.

Aerith who was deeply amused by the whole scene shook her head slowly, she stood up from her seat and walked along the Tiny Bronco to see what everyone else was up to. Aerith stopped in her tracks when she saw Zack sat in a cross legged position with his eyes shut, obviously in deep concentration, Aerith walked up to him. "What are you doing?" Aerith asked causing Zack to snap out of his concentration.

"Trying to revert to my human form," the drag human answered as he slowly opened his eyes and looked at Aerith.

"How are you doing so far?" Aerith asked curiously not taking her bright green eyes off him.

"Not too good," Zack answered shaking his head sadly, "I've been stuck in this form for so long now that I've forgotten what my human self looked like." Zack sighed as he looked down at his hands, "I guess I'm doomed to live the rest of my life like this…" He continued dejectedly hanging his head.

Aerith knelt down opposite Zack, she placed her hand under the drag human's chin and pushed his face up gently until it was level with her own face. "You're not doomed to live your life in this form," Aerith reassured Zack as she gave him a comforting smile.

"Vincent said that the first transformation is always the hardest," Zack stated as Aerith moved her hand from under Zack's chin and sat down next to him. "After that, changing from one form to the other should be easy."

"Well maybe he's right," Aerith replied agreeing with Vincent's words of wisdom, "You just have to keep trying."

"But I've been trying ever since we left Wutai," Zack moaned, "and I haven't got very far with it."

"Why don't you try again?" Aerith suggested, "Maybe I can help you."

"Aerith…" Zack said with a sigh as he looked at the Cetra with his animal like eyes, "I don't think you can help me out here."

"At least try…" Aerith pleaded with Zack as she placed her hand on top of his to encourage him, "for me…" Zack sighed, he knew that Aerith was right, he shouldn't give up just because he hit a snag, he should keep trying. Zack closed his eyes and focused all his energy into transforming, he tried to visualise his human form in his mind. Aerith watched the whole thing and she was surprised when Zack's skin went from purple to near flesh coloured with a hint of purple and his tail shrank back into his rear end. "Zack…" Aerith uttered in surprise as she shook him, "look!" Zack's eyes fluttered open thus snapping him out of his concentration causing his skin to revert to its deep purple colour and his tail emerged out of his rear end again and curled itself round Zack's legs. Zack sighed sadly when he saw this.

"It didn't work," Zack stated giving in, he slipped his hand out from under Aerith's hand and slowly stood up, he walked over to the wing of the plane and sighed again as he looked out, Aerith stood up and followed him.

"But, your skin was almost flesh coloured," Aerith informed Zack trying to sound encouraging at the same time, "and your tail had disappeared for a short while."

"I'm never gonna get it am I?" Zack asked, a hint of sadness was in his voice as he hung his head and didn't even look at Aerith.

"These things take time," Aerith told him as she placed her hand on Zack's shoulder to comfort him. "But you were close, I saw it," Aerith continued to reassure the drag human. "Maybe you should take a break, the last thing I want is for you to overexert yourself."

Zack smiled weakly as he turned round to look at Aerith, "yeah, you're right," Zack agreed as he sat down on the edge of the wing, Aerith sat down next to him. "I think I will take a break for a while," Aerith smiled as Zack lifted his arm up and put round Aerith, the Cetra rested her head in Zack's chest as they looked out to sea.

After a while Yuffie was still busy looking at the map and helping Cid to navigate when she saw land not too far away. "We're here!" Yuffie exclaimed causing everyone to stop what they were doing and stared at the ninja who was jumping up and down excitedly and pointed to the stretch of land that was getting closer and closer. "We're approaching land!"

"Hold on tight!" Cid warned as he made the Tiny Bronco move faster across the water, "I'm gonna get us there at high speed!" Tifa rolled her eyes before looking down at Cloud again surprised that he was still asleep even after Yuffie had shouted.

"I'm surprised he's still asleep…" Tifa uttered as she stroked the blond man's hair again, _"He's so cute when he's sleeping," _Tifa thought to herself as she ran her finger along Cloud's lips again. Tifa looked around to make sure that no one was looking before she bent down, her lips were just inches away from Cloud's lips before the ex SOLDIER's fluttered open causing Tifa to pull away quickly.

"Huh…" Cloud muttered sleepily as he rubbed his eyes and slowly sat up, he turned his head round and saw Tifa sitting behind him. "Tifa…"

"Cloud…you're awake…" Tifa stated trying to hide her surprise and disappointment but only half succeeding.

"Are you ok?" Cloud asked as he gave the dark haired woman a concerned look.

"I'm fine…" Tifa answered quickly her face going bright red, "you just surprised me that's all…I didn't expect you to wake up so suddenly…"

"You look a little flushed…" Cloud stated as he looked at Tifa's face causing her face to go redder. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"I'm fine…" Tifa repeated her previous answer as she stood up and dusted herself off, she then turned away from Cloud not wanting to look at him. "Anyway…we've arrived now…" Tifa quickly changed the subject, Cloud stood up and looked out to see that they were approaching land.

"How much longer Cid?" Cloud asked turning his attention to the pilot, Tifa's face returned to its normal colour and she let out a sigh of relief under her breath as Cloud wasn't asking her awkward questions anymore.

"Right about…" Cid started to answer as the Tiny Bronco pulled up to the shore near a lone a house not too far from Gongaga and the Gold Saucer. "Now," Cid finished his sentence as he shut the engine off and climbed out of the pilot seat. "Now everyone get the fuck off ma plane!" Cid barked as everyone got off the Tiny Bronco and walked up a small hill to the house.

"This is where your friend lives right?" Red asked inquisitively as he looked up at Zack.

"Yeah," Zack answered as he nodded, "but it's been a while since I've seen him and well…" He pointed sadly to himself as he sighed. "I'd be very surprised if he recognised me now."

"Ok, me and Zack are going in, see if we can get some information out of the guy." Cloud stated as he walked up to Zack and turned round to look at the others. "You guys wait here," the group sat down on the grass and waited as Cloud and Zack entered the house.

"Anyone in here?" Zack's voice echoed through the large room as he and Cloud looked around and saw numerous swords on the shelves.

"Wow!" Cloud exclaimed as he looked at the swords on the shelf nearest to him, "look at all these swords, does the guy that owns this place make them himself."

"Yeah," Zack answered, "when he has the right materials, I wonder if he's even home." Zack and Cloud continued to look around, the two men froze when they heard something click behind them. Zack and Cloud turned round and a shotgun was pointed at Zack's chest, Zack and Cloud followed the barrel of the shotgun with their eyes and they saw a man in his mid to late 20s with black hair tied back in a short ponytail, tanned skin and wearing a black shirt, jeans and boots holding the shotgun.

"Back foul beast!" The man yelled as he jabbed the end of the shotgun into Zack's chest forcing him back, "what are you doing in my shop? Get out!"

"Are you sure this guy is your friend?" Cloud whispered to Zack as he cast another look at the man wielding the shotgun. "Because he doesn't seem very friendly towards you."

Zack scowled at Cloud before turning his attention to the man pointing the shotgun at him, "Tony wait! Don't shoot!" Zack pleaded desperately as Tony's finger was on the trigger, "it's me Zack!"

There was an awkward silence as Tony and Zack were staring at each other, one was too shocked to speak and the other was watching the shotgun nervously. Tony's finger still hovered on the trigger as he took a closer look at Zack's face, true Zack looked different from the last time Tony saw him, but Tony recognised the hair style, a hair style like that wasn't easy to forget. "Zack…" Tony finally uttered as his finger moved away from the trigger. "Is that really you?"

"Last time I checked…" Zack muttered sarcastically causing Cloud and Tony to chuckle slightly.

"Well, you still got the same old wit," Tony stated happily, he became much more relaxed now.

"Errr…yeah…" Zack replied still watching the shotgun nervously, "do you mind moving the shotgun away?"

"Oh…sorry about that," Tony apologised as he moved the shotgun away from Zack's chest, the drag human sighing with relief as Tony brought the shotgun down to his side. "I didn't recognise you at first, I thought you were a monster."

"If I was a monster then you wouldn't even be talking right now," Zack replied as Tony laughed again.

"I guess that's true," Tony responded, "so how can I help you guys?" Tony asked adopting a more professional manner. "If it's weapons you want, you sure picked an out of the way place."

Zack laughed, now that he was no longer in any danger of being shot he felt more relaxed. "Well you make really neat swords," Zack answered, "but that's not why we're here."

"Oh…" Tony replied in surprise as he stared at Zack and Cloud, "You're after the Keystone aren't you?" Tony asked as Zack and Cloud gave him confused stares, "you're too late anyway, I sold it."

"The Keystone…" Cloud questioned as he stared at Tony.

"You didn't come for the Keystone…" Tony asked as Zack and Cloud shook their heads.

"We don't even know what the Keystone is," Zack answered truthfully as Cloud nodded, this caused Tony to laugh.

"The Keystone is the key that unlocks the gate of a very old temple somewhere," Tony explained to Cloud and Zack who stared at Tony with keen interest. "You're not gonna believe this but I heard that it was the Temple of the Ancients."

"The Temple of the Ancients…does it really exist?" Cloud mused.

"Ha, ha, ha!" Tony laughed loudly as Cloud and Zack scowled at him, "don't take it so seriously," stated in a light hearted manner as he paced round Zack and Cloud holding the shotgun behind his back. "It's just a legend."

"So, who has the Keystone?" Zack asked as Tony stopped pacing round and looked at the drag human.

"The manager of the Gold Saucer," Tony answered a hint of nervousness in his voice as he said it. "I think his name was Dio, to be honest I didn't really want to sell it but…he had this presence that made you feel like it was a bad idea not to sell it to him if you know what I mean."

Cloud and Zack nodded to show that they understood, "what would Dio want with the Keystone?" Cloud questioned.

"Said he wanted to put it in his museum," Tony replied, "seems like a waste to me but he paid a lot of money for it, who was I to complain?"

"I guess we'll have to pay Dio a visit," Zack whispered to Cloud as the blond haired man nodded, "see if we can persuade him to let us have the Keystone."

"Good luck with that," Tony stated obviously hearing Zack's plan. "Dio's not so easily persuadable."

"Oh…we have a few tricks up our sleeves," Zack replied with a smirk, "anyway, where can we find the Temple of the Ancients?"

"Come on Zack…you seriously don't believe that the Temple of the Ancients exists do ya?" Tony asked as he stared inquisitively at the drag human.

"Right now I'm willing to believe that anything's possible," Zack answered with such sincerity that it made Tony feel slightly uneasy.

"Oh yeah…I forgot you were in SOLDIER," Tony responded, "but if it really did exist that would be something wouldn't it? To be honest, I'm not sure where the Temple is myself but I have heard that there was Ultimate Destruction Magic hidden somewhere within the temple."

Cloud and Zack jumped back and stared at Tony in shock when they heard that, "Ultimate Destruction Magic…" They both asked in perfect unison as Tony laughed at them again.

"I told you guys not to take it seriously," Tony replied still laughing. "Sorry I wasn't much help guys."

"It's ok Tony," Zack said as he patted Tony on the shoulder as he and Cloud walked passed him, "you were a great help, thanks."

"Anytime guys," Tony responded, Zack and Cloud nodded and they walked out of the shop where everyone else was waiting for them.

"Well…" Tifa asked as soon as Cloud and Zack approached the group, "any luck?"

"We know that we can't get into the Temple of the Ancients without the Keystone," Cloud answered as the group gave him blank stares.

"What the fuck is that when it's at home?" Cid cursed loudly, Zack and Cloud sighed and they both explained what the Keystone was and where it was currently.

"So Dio's got this Keystone…" Barret stated after Cloud and Zack had finished, "Good thing we're near the Gold Saucer ain't it?"

The group nodded, "come on, let's go pay Dio a visit," Cloud commanded as they walked away from the house towards the town of North Corel. When the group entered the town the villagers stopped what they were doing and glared at Barret as the group walked passed.

"Just ignore them…" Tifa whispered encouragingly in Barret's ear.

"What d'ya think I'm doin'?" Barret asked Tifa in a hushed tone as he looked round nervously at the villagers. The group walked through the town and when they entered the ropeway station they boarded the cable car to the Gold Saucer. After five minutes the group arrived at the main entrance to the Gold Saucer, they stopped when they saw the attendant.

"Wait…" Aerith called out to the group causing them all to stop and look at her. "We only bought the single tickets last time," Aerith reminded the group as they suddenly remembered.

"And I don't wanna fork out 3000gil for just one day even if this place is good," Cid complained as he lit his cigarette and started to smoke it. Another attendant saw this and walked over to the pilot.

"Please sir, this is a non-smoking area," the attendant calmly informed Cid as he pointed to a no smoking sign on the wall. "Kindly put it out."

"Lousy no good mother fucker…" Cid cursed under his breath as he threw the cigarette to the floor and stomped on it to put it out. "You happy now?" Cid demanded as the attendant nodded and walked off.

"So…how are we gonna get in?" Tifa asked as she looked at her team mates for an answer.

"Just leave it to me," Zack answered as he cracked his knuckles and walked over to the attendant at the ticket stand.

"Welcome to the Gold Saucer," the woman at the ticket stand greeted, Zack rolled his eyes. "Are you…aaackkk…" the attendant choked as Zack reached out and grabbed the attendant by the throat.

"Don't be feedin' us that bullshit again…" Zack hissed menacingly in the attendant's ear, the attendant let out a choked cry as she heard a clicking sound as the end of Zack's tail kept opening and closing. "You're gonna make friends of Dio pay full price…" Zack demanded as he slightly loosened his grip on the attendant.

"R…really…you're friends of…Dio…" the attendant asked as she stared nervously at Zack, her body was visibly shaking.

"You can check if you don't believe me…" Zack whispered in the attendant's ear.

"N…no…" the attendant stammered as she shook her head frantically. "I…I believe you…is there anything you need…"

"Lifetime passes, for me and my friends here," Zack requested as he pointed to his friends who waved casually. "Free of charge of course."

"R…right a…away…" The attendant stammered as she stared at Zack unsure of what to call him, Zack glared evilly at her. "S...sir…" She finished her sentence, Zack released her and the woman typed something up on her computer before she gave Zack what looked like gold coloured cards. "Will there be anything else sir…"

Zack looked over at his friends who shook their heads, Zack then turned back to face the attendant again. "No, we're good," Zack answered with a grin as he and his friends walked through the main entrance tunnel and entered the station square.

"Was that really necessary?" Tifa demanded as Zack grinned at her.

"That poor girl," Aerith stated sympathetically as she looked back down the tunnel. "You really did scare her Zack."

"She'll get over it," Zack replied dismissively causing Aerith to scowl at him. "Look…I wasn't really gonna harm her…" Aerith folded her arms and continued to glare at the drag human. "I got us all in for free didn't I?"

"He does have a point," Yuffie chipped in agreeing with Zack, "I wouldn't have wanted to pay again anyway, and we have life time tickets which means we can come here for free for the rest of our lives!" Yuffie jumped up and down excitedly as she thought about this.

Aerith sighed, "I guess you're right," Aerith gave in as her gaze softened, "so what now?" Aerith asked as Cloud was stood near the tunnel leading to the battle arena.

"We gotta pay Dio a visit," Cloud answered as he turned to face the group who were now stood round him. "We need to find someway to get the Keystone."

"But surely all of us don't have to go, right?" Red questioned.

"Yeah," Barret agreed with the beast, "and our last visit wasn't exactly fun."

"You mean how you were being a miserable git…" Zack reminded Barret causing the man with the gun arm to lash out at him. Zack merely side stepped out of the way and Barret scowled at him.

"Leave him alone Zack," Tifa admonished as she waved her index finger in the drag human's face, however she couldn't help but smile. Zack stuck his tongue out at Tifa causing the dark haired woman to laugh, Cloud rolled his eyes as he shook his head.

"Me and Zack will go and see Dio," Cloud stated as he looked round at everyone. "I'm not sure how long this will take, so you guys may as well enjoy yourselves. We'll meet you all back at the tram station, ok." The group nodded and Zack and Cloud jumped into the tunnel leading to the battle arena, Aerith walked up to Tifa.

"So…" Aerith asked playfully as she placed her arms behind her back and smiled at Tifa.

"So what?" Tifa questioned as she turned round to stare at the Cetra.

"You like him don't you?" Aerith continued in that same tone as Tifa gave her a confused stare.

"I don't know what you mean…" Tifa lied as Aerith gave Tifa a knowing look, "I don't," Tifa continued to deny it but Aerith knew the truth.

"I saw the way you were looking at Cloud," the Cetra stated in that same playful tone. "You've been doing it for the entire journey…" Tifa blushed when she heard this, she turned away from her friend hoping that she wouldn't see it but it was too late as Aerith had seen her blush.

"Is it that obvious…" Tifa whispered nervously in Aerith's ear as her friend nodded.

"I used to give Zack that look years ago," Aerith whispered back to Tifa.

"I thought you flirted with him," Tifa enquired as she grinned at Aerith.

"Well…we flirted with each other," Aerith answered truthfully as she grinned at Tifa, "he asked me out on a date, I thought he was joking at first, so I flirted back and said that he was lame." Both Aerith and Tifa laughed, "Turned out he was serious," Aerith continued, she sighed as she remembered that moment. "I agreed to go out with him and I've never looked back since…anyway," Aerith quickly changed the subject, "we're not talking about me and Zack we're talking about you and Cloud. Don't you think you should tell him?"

Tifa sighed, "The thought has crossed my mind," Tifa answered a hint of sadness in her voice. "But, I'm afraid, afraid that Cloud wouldn't feel the same way."

"Well you won't know if you don't try," Aerith advised as she placed her hand on Tifa's shoulder. "You have to swallow your fear and tell Cloud how you feel."

"But what if he doesn't feel the same way?" Tifa asked fearfully.

"At least you'll know," Aerith replied trying to sound encouraging. "And I'm sure Cloud feels the same way about you."

"You think so?" Tifa questioned giving Aerith a hopeful expression as the Cetra nodded.

"Without a doubt," Aerith answered reassuringly, "come on, Zack and Cloud won't be back for a while yet, you wanna go to the arcades?" Aerith asked as she pointed at the Wonder Square tunnel.

"Sure," Tifa replied with a grin, "whoever loses the fighting game has to buy the winner a soda."

Aerith also grinned, "You're on!" Aerith agreed as the two women ran to the tunnel and dived in leaving their friends stood in the station.

Cid turned to face Barret, "well, I'm gonna go to the Chocobo stadium to make a few bets on the races, try to win me a few gil. Wanna come?" Cid asked his friend.

Barret nodded, "ok," Barret accepted Cid's offer, "I never got a chance to go there last time, do you know which ones to bet for?"

"Are you kiddin'? I've been bettin' on races for years," Cid boasted as he grinned at Barret. "I know which Chocobo's are champs and which ones are fuckin' shite!" Cid and Barret walked to the tunnel leading to the Chocobo stadium and dived into it.

"I think I'm gonna watch Tifa and Aerith on the arcade games for a while," Red stated as he walked towards the Wonder Square tunnel.

"I'll come with ye," Cait Sith called out to Red as the beast and the cat jumped through the tunnel leaving Vincent and Yuffie alone.

"I guess that leaves you and me," Yuffie said flirtatiously as she grinned at Vincent.

"Oh joy…" Vincent muttered under his breath, Yuffie grabbed Vincent's arm, "what are you doing?" Vincent demanded as Yuffie dragged him to the Gondola tunnel.

"Come on Vincent, let's go on the gondola!" Yuffie yelled excitedly as she continued to drag Vincent to the tunnel entrance. "Just the two of us!"

"No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!" Vincent shouted at the top of his lungs as he struggled against Yuffie's grip, Yuffie pushed Vincent down the tunnel before diving in herself. The two of them landed in the gondola station and joined the queue, with Yuffie jumping up and down excitedly. "Don't you ever rest?" Vincent questioned as he rolled his eyes. (**A/N, by the way, everything that happens between Aerith, Tifa, Barret, Cid, Red, Cait Sith, Yuffie, Vincent and Cait Sith occurs at the same time but I have to write them all individually.**)

"What's the matter, am I too much to handle?" Yuffie asked flirtatiously.

"Hardly," Vincent muttered under his breath, Yuffie continued to jump up and down as they approached the ticket booth for the ride.

"Two tickets please," Yuffie requested enthusiastically, as she linked arms with Vincent, the dark haired man tried to get out of Yuffie's iron grip but he couldn't.

"Here you go," the attendant replied as he handed Yuffie the tickets, "enjoy the ride."

"Oh we intend to," Yuffie stated as she dragged a worried looking Vincent to the gondola.

"Help me…" Vincent mouthed wordlessly as he and Yuffie climbed into the gondola, the sound of gears could be heard as the gondola moved slowly along the track for a moment before moving along on a wire.

"Boy, we're really high up huh?" Yuffie asked as she stood up to look outside the window, "you can see everything from up here." Yuffie walked across the gondola to look out the other window, "the people look so small down there…don't you think?" Yuffie questioned a playfully as she turned round to look at Vincent.

"Don't you ever shut up?" Vincent asked as he glared at Yuffie.

"Surely you don't want me to do that…" Yuffie replied still in that playful tone.

"No really…shut up," Vincent complained as he held his head, "your constant talking is giving me a headache."

"Come on Vincent, look where we are." Yuffie stated as she gestured at the small room around her. "We're in a gondola way up high, with just the two of us…" Yuffie sat down on the seat next to Vincent and started to trace circles on Vincent's chest with her finger causing the raven haired man to become more and more uneasy.

Vincent grabbed Yuffie by the wrist and pulled her arm so that her face was close to his, "don't do that…" he hissed menacingly.

"Come on Vincent," Yuffie tried again to appeal to Vincent's more sensitive side. "Surely you feel something for me…"

"Why would I feel anything for an immature, selfish brat like you?" Vincent demanded as he forced Yuffie's arm away from him and released it.

Yuffie moved even closer to Vincent and wrapped her arms round his waist and rested her head on his chest. "Why would you save me if you felt nothing?" Yuffie asked as Vincent struggled frantically to get out of Yuffie's grip. "Come on Vincent, answer me!" Yuffie demanded as she wrapped her arms tighter round Vincent's waist.

"Give me strength…" Vincent muttered under his breath as he grabbed Yuffie's arms and slowly pried them away from him. "I only saved you because you knew the location of our materia that you stole!" Vincent yelled at Yuffie, the love struck ninja ignored Vincent and she climbed on to Vincent's lap and sat down wrapping her arms round Vincent's neck.

"That's not the reason and you know it Vincent Valentine," Yuffie retorted playfully as she leaned closer to Vincent's face. "You saved me because you love me…" Yuffie whispered in Vincent's ear causing Vincent to blush and stare at Yuffie in shock.

"You're obsessed…" Vincent uttered through gritted teeth as he tried to get Yuffie off him but the ninja had other ideas.

"Kiss me Vincent," Yuffie moaned as she stroked Vincent's face, "you know you want to…" Before Vincent could say anything Yuffie kissed him passionately on the lips. Vincent's eyes grew wide in shock, he brought his hands up to Yuffie's back and struggled desperately to get her off him. Vincent was so busy trying to get Yuffie off him that he didn't realise the ride had already ended.

"Ehem…" the attendant cleared his throat causing Yuffie to stop kissing Vincent, "the ride ended 15 minutes ago."

"It did…" Yuffie asked as the attendant nodded.

"Thank goodness for that…" Vincent muttered under his breath as he and Yuffie got off the gondola and entered the tunnel which led back to the station. "What…the hell…was that?" Vincent demanded as he glared at Yuffie.

"Y…you didn't like that…" Yuffie asked her eyes widened with shock as she stared at the dark haired man.

"No!" Vincent snapped at Yuffie, "Being stuck in a gondola with you of all people was my worst nightmare!"

"You mean…you don't like me…" Yuffie questioned sadly not taking her eyes off Vincent.

"You'll have more chance of seeing Hojo prancing around in a field of flowers wearing a flower crown than me liking you!" Vincent yelled at Yuffie as he barged passed her and started to walk off. Vincent barged passed Yuffie and started to walk off, but he soon stopped in his tracks when he heard sniffing behind him. Vincent turned round and he saw Yuffie stood there staring at him, tears formed in her eyes and her bottom lip quivered as she tried hard not to cry. "No! Don't even think about it!" Vincent shouted warningly as he pointed a finger at Yuffie. The ninja fell to her knees as she cried loudly causing everyone in the area to stop what they were doing and stare at the crying girl and the dark haired man who was just staring at Yuffie in shock trying to think of the best way to calm her down. "Yuffie…" Vincent called out the ninja's name, "please stop this…there are people staring…"

"Well I'm sorry to be an embarrassment!" Yuffie wailed as she continued to cry, puddles were forming at her knees as more tears escaped her eyes.

Vincent sighed as he shook his head, "that poor girl, what did you do to her?" A woman in the crowd demanded causing Vincent to turn round and glare at her while stroking his handgun.

"That's none of your fucking business!" Vincent snapped at the woman causing everyone in the vicinity to stare at him in shock. Vincent sighed again and he walked up to Yuffie, "Yuffie can we please sort this out…preferably somewhere without an audience…"

"I thought you said you didn't want to be alone with me?" Yuffie cried as Vincent knelt down beside her.

"Well you were creeping me out in the gondola," Vincent stated calmly, "you were flirting with me and you kissed me…what was I supposed to think?" Yuffie looked up at Vincent, her face was stained with tears. Vincent sighed again, "Look…if you stop crying now…" Vincent paused for a moment trying to think of what he could say to persuade Yuffie to stop crying. "I'll buy you an ice cream."

"R…really…" Yuffie stammered.

"Whatever flavour you like," Vincent answered.

Yuffie soon stopped crying and she leapt up to her feet, "ok…then I want triple chocolate ice cream, with chocolate sprinkles, walnuts, bits of brownies inside, oh and hot fudge sauce." Yuffie told Vincent what she wanted as Vincent shook his head.

"Don't go nuts," Vincent replied as he and Yuffie walked off to find an ice cream vendor, Vincent bought Yuffie the ice cream she wanted and it wasn't long before she finished the ice cream. "Feel better?" Vincent asked when Yuffie had finished her ice cream.

"Yeah," Yuffie answered as she smiled at Vincent, there were no longer tear stains on her face but her eyes were still slightly red from crying. "I should get upset more often."

"Don't get too used to it," Vincent replied as he stood up and smiled at Yuffie. "We should get back to the entrance and meet everyone," he stated as Yuffie also stood up and the two made their way back to the entrance.

Meanwhile, Tifa and Aerith were in the arcades playing their thirtieth round of the battle simulator. Red and Cait Sith were sat there watching with keen interest as the two women continued to play the game.

"Come on…" Tifa muttered under her breath as she pushed buttons at random concentration etched on her face. She took a quick glance at Aerith who was sat next to her calmly pressing the buttons, Tifa quickly turned her attention back to the game to find that her character was lying on the floor knocked out while the words 'player one wins' flashed on the screen. "Oh…" Tifa moaned loudly as she slammed her fists on the controller causing it to spark, the two women, the beast and the cat stared at the sparking controller nervously before walking quickly out of the arcade, Tifa trying to look innocent, no one dared to talk until they were safely out of the arcade.

"Ok…how…" Tifa stammered as she stared at Aerith in shock.

"How what?" The Cetra asked calmly her eyes gazing softly at her friend.

"How the hell did you beat me thirty times in a row?" Tifa demanded not taking her eyes off Aerith, her hands were balled into fists and were shaking.

"Oh…" Aerith uttered as she smiled, "well that game was really a computerised version of rock, paper, scissors," Aerith started to explain as she placed her hands behind her back. "You have to make your choices carefully, also watching your opponent's moves help…that way you know what they're planning and you can act accordingly."

Tifa stood there for what seemed like ages staring at Aerith in shock, "ok…who are you and what have you done with the real Aerith?" Tifa finally asked after finding her voice.

"What do you mean?" Aerith questioned innocently.

"Since when did you become a games expert?" Tifa asked giving Aerith a sceptical look.

"I learned it from Zack," Aerith answered in that same calm way which irritated Tifa sometimes. It often made the woman think how Aerith could be so calm.

"Ok…when did Zack become a games expert?" Tifa questioned as Aerith laughed.

"Errr…he's a guy," Aerith answered matter of factly, "you know what they're like with their technology."

"Not all guys are good with computer games…or technology for that matter." Tifa replied, she chuckled slightly as she thought of Barret struggling to use a fax machine.

"Anyway…you remember our deal…" Aerith asked quickly changing the subject, "the loser has to buy the winner a soda, and since you lost thirty games in a row…you owe me thirty sodas." Aerith added with a smirk as Tifa sighed.

"I know, I know…" Tifa replied in an exasperated tone as she, Aerith, Red and Cait Sith made their way back to the tunnels. They found a drinks vendor near the tunnel leading back to the station, Tifa walked up to the vendor and bought Aerith and herself a soda, she walked back over to the group and she hand one of the sodas to Aerith.

"Tifa…you're 29 sodas short…" Aerith stated as she stared at the soda cup in her hand.

"Oh no…I'm not buying them all at once," Tifa answered firmly as she took a sip out of her own soda. "I'll get them over a period of time ok."

"Fine…" Aerith sighed as she took a sip out of her soda,

"Maybe you should both write it down so you don't forget," Red suggested as Tifa stared at Red.

"I think I can remember," she told the beast.

"And I'll remind you to make sure," Aerith stated.

"Well, I think we should start heading back to the others now lass," Cait Sith replied as he pointed to a clock on the wall. "It's already been an hour."

"Yeah, you're right Cait Sith," Tifa agreed, "we have been a while, the others are probably waiting for us." Tifa and Aerith quickly drank their sodas before the group walked over to the tunnel leading to the station and dived into it one at a time.

Everyone in the Chocobo stadium including Cid and Barret cheered as a Chocobo called Hot Stud sped across the finish line. "And Hot Stud wins again!" The commentator's voice boomed through the microphone as the crowd cheered louder. "In all my time as a commentator here at the Chocobo stadium I've never seen Hot Stud lose a race!" The Chocobos were returned to their stables and everyone left the track while it was being set up for the next race, Cid and Barret walked over to the counter to claim their winnings.

"Congratulations sir," the attendant said enthusiastically as Cid showed her his betting slip. "Would you like it in GP or gil?" She asked.

"Gil obviously," Cid answered as he leaned his elbow on the table, "got more use for it haven't I?" The attendant smiled as she walked to the back of the counter and returned with 500gil.

"How did you know that Chocobo was gonna win?" Barret asked as he stared at Cid in awe obviously impressed.

Cid tapped his nose with his finger and grinned slyly at Barret, "watch and learn Barret," Cid answered vaguely. "Watch and learn."

"The next race is in half an hour," the attendant informed the two men. "Would you like to make a bet?" She asked as a list of all the Chocobos in the next race appeared on a giant screen, Cid and Barret read the names and Cid stopped at one of the names.

"Foxy Lady huh…" Cid read the Chocobo's name out loud and grinned, "I like the sound of that, put 200gil on Foxy Lady," Cid demanded as he put 200gil down on the counter.

The attendant took the money and gave Cid another betting slip, "there you are sir, enjoy the race."

"Oh we will…" Cid stated still grinning as he and Barret made his way to the track, Cid and Barret stood at the barrier and within half an hour the Chocobos were in their stalls. The sound of a gun shot was heard as the stall doors opened and the Chocobo's ran out of it.

"And they're off!" The commentator's voice boomed down the microphone as the Chocobo's ran along the track. "And Foxy Lady has had a strong start!" The commentator remarked as everyone cheered as the Chocobo known as Foxy Lady sped up the steep slope of the track.

"Come on Foxy Lady!" Cid yelled at the top of his lungs and jumping up and down excitedly, "I've got money ridin' on you!"

"I ain't seen you so excited in a long time!" Barret shouted to Cid over the cheers of the crowd.

"I just have a good feelin' about this race!" Cid shouted back enthusiastically, "Come on!" Cid continued to cheer the Chocobo on. The crowd continued to watch as two other Chocobos caught up with Foxy Lady. "COME ON YOU STUPID CHOCOBO!" Cid yelled in a frustrated tone as he jumped up and down again. I BET 200 FUCKIN' GILL ON YOU!" The crowd fell silent as they watched the tense moment three Chocobos were neck and neck, but Foxy Lady pulled away from the other two Chocobos and crossed the finish line. YES!" Cid yelled triumphantly as the crowd cheered, Cid kissed his betting slip. "I love ya baby," he whispered to the betting slip as everyone filed out of the stadium again. Cid collected his winnings for that race and after several more races Cid and Barret left the Chocobo stadium with Cid being richer than when he entered.

"I must say I'm impressed," Barret commented as he and Cid walked down the giant steps towards the tunnels leading to the different areas of the park.

Cid grinned, "I told ya I was an expert when it comes to bettin'," Cid replied as he and Barret stopped at the tunnel which led back to the station.

"You bet on Chocobos with sexy names," Barret stated as he smirked at Cid, "somethin' you're not tellin' me…"

"The names sound appealin', "Cid reasoned his grin growing wider, "it just so happened that they were also lucky," Barret shook his head and rolled his eyes causing the pilot to scowl at him.

Barret laughed at the expression on Cid's face, "come on," Barret changed the subject as he pointed at the tunnel. "We better get back to the others," without another word Barret and Cid jumped down the tunnel and made their way back to the entrance.

Cloud and Zack arrived at the entrance to the battle arena and climbed up the steps to the arena lobby, the two men entered the lobby and walked to the right where they saw a room with a sign saying ''Dio's Museum". Cloud opened the door and he and Zack entered the room and started to look round.

"Check out all the worthless crap," Zack commented as he pointed at all the portraits and other items that Dio had bought over the years.

Cloud scowled at the drag human, "Zack…we're here to look for the Keystone, so stay focused!" Cloud snapped.

"Hey I'm focused…" Zack stated as he grinned at Cloud, "focused is my middle name." Cloud shook his head and started to look round, Zack did the same. The drag human stopped when he saw that one of the pictures on the wall wasn't of Dio. Zack grinned when he realised what the picture was, "hey Cloud, come look at this," Zack called out to Cloud as the ex SOLDIER walked over to him and stared in shock as he saw the picture of him and Zack sat on the Chocobo.

Cloud was holding on to the reigns for dear life and Zack was striking a pose and pulling a silly face. "Wow…he actually put it in here…" Zack commented with a smirk as Cloud covered his face in embarrassment, Zack saw this. "Why are you so embarrassed?" Zack asked his friend as Cloud looked up and stared at the drag human.

"I look shit scared on that picture," Cloud answered as Zack laughed, "It's not funny!" Cloud yelled at Zack. "You were pulling that stupid face and I can't believe you farted fire, that was fuckin' rank!"

"I didn't hear you complaining…" Zack stated defensively as he folded his arms and scowled at Cloud. "Besides we won the race didn't we?"

"I guess," Cloud replied, "also I didn't have much chance to complain considering I was holding on to the reigns for dear life."

Zack laughed again, "You gotta admit it was funny though."

"For you maybe…" Cloud retorted as he walked away from the picture, Zack quickly followed him.

"Come on Cloud, where's your sense of humour?" Zack asked as Cloud turned round to glare at Zack.

"It died," Cloud muttered sarcastically as he turned round and started walking again. "Along with my dignity," Zack was almost doubled over laughing, Cloud just ignored it, the two men carried on walking through the museum until they spotted something shiny at the other side of the room.

"What's that over there?" Zack questioned as he pointed at the shiny object.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that might be the Keystone…" Cloud answered as he and Zack walked towards the shiny object. They were a few centimetres away from the object when they heard the museum door open and close.

"Someone's coming," Zack whispered to Cloud, "do you think it's Dio?"

"Most likely," Cloud answered as Zack quickly turned invisible. "Zack…" Cloud asked in a panicked tone as he searched frantically for Zack. "Zack what are you doing?"

"If it's Dio then distract him ok," Zack whispered in Cloud's ear.

"What are you gonna do?" Cloud whispered back.

"I'm gonna swipe it," Zack answered.

"Are you crazy?" Cloud demanded in a hushed tone as the footsteps got louder as the person got closer.

"Just act casual…" Zack hissed to Cloud as Dio appeared round the corner and spotted Cloud.

Dio smiled when he saw Cloud, "Cloud my boy!" Dio boomed cheerfully as he stopped next to Cloud, "long time no see eh…I see your friend isn't with you."

"Errr…no…he's errr…in another area of the park," Cloud lied trying to sound convincing hoping against hope that Dio would buy it. Dio gave Cloud a sceptical stare for a moment but he soon smiled again and Cloud inwardly sighed with relief.

"I see," Dio finally said, "that's a shame," he turned round to look at the shiny object on display. "I see you like the Keystone."

"So it is the Keystone," Cloud stated casually making sure that Zack (who was still invisible) heard it and the drag human crept under the rope barrier and stood near the Keystone waiting for Dio to look away again so he could take it. "I was wondering," Cloud continued in that same casual voice. "Can I borrow the Keystone?" Cloud asked, "It's for a good cause." Zack mentally sighed to himself and shook his invisible head at Cloud's pathetic pleading.

"Heh, heh, heh," Dio laughed heartily as he turned away from the Keystone, Cloud doing the same. "Sorry," Dio apologised to Cloud, "but I'm afraid it's not for rent," Dio gestured at the Keystone as he said this, Zack crept closer to the Keystone hoping that Dio wouldn't turn round. "Hmmm…" Dio thought for a moment stroking his goatee as he did so. "Since you've been so good to me in the past," Dio continued not taking his eyes off Cloud. "I can let you have it, on one condition."

"One condition…" Cloud repeated Dio's last words as he looked out of the corner of his eye to see the Keystone being lifted by invisible hands, Cloud looked back at Dio hoping that the man wouldn't turn round and notice that the Keystone was being taken from under his nose.

Dio laughed again, "entertain me," he answered as he placed his hands behind his back, Cloud gave Dio a blank stare wondering what the man wanted him to do. Dio sighed and shook his head, "oh boy," he continued half amused at Cloud's confusion, "nothing too difficult, I mean this is the battle arena after all," Dio added. "Show me your fighting skills, just you my boy, I'm expecting a good fight!" Dio stated excitedly as he punched the air with his fist, he didn't even notice the Keystone floating in the air in front of him.

"I've got a better idea," Zack suddenly spoke up in a creepy voice and moving the Keystone around to make it look like it was floating, Dio leapt back in shock when he heard the voice. "Why don't you let this man take me out of here before I end up being as gay as you…"

"W…what…the…" Dio uttered in surprise as he stared at the floating Keystone, "it just…talked…."

"Of course I can talk you idiot!" Zack yelled in that same creepy voice trying hard not to laugh. Cloud stared at the Keystone also trying not to laugh. "Now let this man take me so he can put me to better use than sitting in your museum collecting dust!"

"A…alright…" Dio stammered as the Keystone (still being controlled by Zack) floated next to Cloud, "I…I don't want any trouble…"

"Good!" Zack boomed in that same creepy voice, "I wouldn't want to have to unleash my wrath on you!" Cloud rolled his eyes thinking that Zack was over doing it.

"Just get it out of here!" Dio yelled nervously as he stared at the floating Keystone, "If that thing is cursed I want nothing more to do with it!"

"Thanks," Cloud replied gratefully as Zack (still invisible) dropped the Keystone into Cloud's open hand. They both left the museum and as soon as they were a good distance away from Dio Zack became visible again and smirked at Cloud. "Ok…I think you over did it," Cloud stated giving Zack an amused smile.

"Did you really want to have to fight for the Keystone?" Zack asked the temptation to laugh growing stronger.

"Good point," Cloud agreed as he and Zack left the arena lobby and made their way to the tunnels. "But did you have to make it look like the Keystone was possessed?"

"You know Dio," Zack answered as he and Cloud stopped at the tunnel which led to the station. "He's a gullible idiot, he'll believe anything you tell him…The look on his face though…it was priceless!" Cloud and Zack burst out laughing.

"Alright, alright…" Cloud finally spoke after controlling his laughter, "we've got the Keystone…we should get back to the others." Cloud and Zack jumped into the tunnel and ran back to the tram station where they found the others already waiting there. Cid was whistling 'I'm in the money' to himself as he counted the money he won at the races and split half of it with Barret. Tifa, Aerith and Yuffie were talking among themselves, Red and Cait Sith were sat there waiting patiently and Vincent was leaning against the wall with his head down refusing to talk to anyone.

"We're back!" Zack called out to the group to get their attention, everyone looked up and walked over to Cloud and Zack. "And we've got the Keystone."

"You got it…" Tifa asked in awe, obviously impressed, "How did you get it?" Cloud and Zack looked at each other before they started laughing again. "What…have we missed something?" Tifa asked, Cloud and Zack told the group everything that had happened in Dio's museum.

"Gullible shit…" Cid muttered obviously amused, "most folk believe anythin' you tell 'em."

"It was either that or fight in the arena for it," Cloud stated simply, "Aerith, can you look after the Keystone for me?" Cloud asked as he held out the Keystone.

"Sure," Aerith replied kindly as she took the Keystone and put it in her bag, Cait Sith watched closely Aerith put the Keystone in her bag and grinned to himself. "The Keystone should be safe with me," Aerith promised Cloud.

"Well there ain't no point in stayin' here no more," Barret stated as he gestured to the park. "Let's go find that damn temple before Sephiroth finds it." The group walked towards the cable car and were about to get on it when an attendant stopped them.

"What the fuck?" Cid cursed loudly causing Aerith and Tifa to scowl at him, "what's the freakin' hold up?"

"Excuse me," the attendant replied politely ignoring Cid's outburst, "I'm sorry to have to tell you this but the tram is out of order right now."

"What?" Zack asked as he stared at the attendant hardly daring to believe what he was hearing. "When's it gonna be repaired?"

"Our maintenance team have been called and will be on it right away," the attendant informed the group, "I'm very sorry," they apologised again, "but I'm afraid you'll be stuck here for a while."

"Ok, well thanks anyway," Aerith responded politely as the group walked away from the cable car. "Now what do we do?" Aerith asked as she looked at her team mates for answers.

"There's nothing we can do," Tifa answered, "not until the tram's repaired."

"I know, why don't we stay at the hotel for the night," Cait Sith suggested helpfully, "they know me round here, I could have a word with them and get us some rooms."

"That's a great idea Cait Sith," Aerith stated encouragingly as the cat smiled. "And it's not like we can do anything else right now, lead the way Cait Sith." Cait Sith walked back into the park and the rest of the group followed him. Five minutes later they entered the hotel and the group waited in the lobby while Cait Sith talked to the hotel manager at the desk explaining the situation. Ten minutes later he walked up to the group.

"I explained the situation to the hotel manager, and he gave us the rooms," Cait Sith told the group, "Hopefully the tram will be repaired by tomorrow."

"Thanks Cait Sith," Cloud thanked the cat who merely nodded in response. The group walked into the next room to find comfortable chairs, a pool table and another table where two ghosts were playing chess against each other.

"This is something isn't it," Cait Sith remarked as everyone made themselves comfortable. "We don't normally get to relax like this. While we're here, why don't you explain everything to us Cloud?" Cait Sith requested as he stared inquisitively at Cloud. "I don't know the full story as I wasn't here from the beginning."

"Yeah," Cid agreed with Cait Sith, "I'd like to know what the hell is goin' on!"

"I've been here since the beginnin'!" Barret yelled in a confused tone, "and I still don't get what's goin' on!"

"So how 'bout it Cloud," Zack stated, as he stared curiously at Cloud pretending not to know everything even though he did. "Why don't you explain it all to us…"

Cloud sighed, "Ok, I'll try," Cloud replied, he looked round at the group who were all staring at him eager to hear his explanation. "We're going after Sephiroth, he must be searching for the Promised Land."

"The Promised Land…what the hell's that?" Cid asked.

"It's a land full of Mako energy," Cloud answered as he turned his attention to Cid. "At least, that's what the Shinra believes…"

"But it can't exist surely…" Zack questioned as he looked at Aerith for answers, "I mean, it's just a legend, right…"

"The Cetra return to the Promised Land," Aerith answered as her gaze met Zack's. "A land that promises boundless happiness."

"Cetra…that some kinda disease?" Barret asked ignorantly causing Aerith to glare at him.

"That's what the Ancients called themselves," Aerith answered irritably as she placed her hands on her hips. "Didn't you listen to the elders in Cosmo Canyon?" Aerith demanded not taking her eyes off Barret.

Barret shrugged, "I dipped in and out," he answered truthfully.

Aerith sighed irritably as she shook her head, "you don't know where the Promised Land of the Ancients is," Aerith continued as she turned away from the group. "You search and you travel until you feel it…" Aerith clasped her hands together as though she was praying, "Like you just know…" She ended with a sigh and she closed her eyes deep in thought.

Zack walked up to Aerith and placed his hand on her shoulder, "what about you?" He asked, Aerith opened her eyes and turned round to face the drag human. "Can you feel it?"

Aerith nodded, "I think so…" she answered.

"So, Sephiroth is travelling because he's searching for the Promised Land, is that it?" Tifa questioned her eyes were fixed on Aerith now.

"That and one other thing he's searching for," Aerith stated.

"The Black Materia…" Zack and Cloud replied in perfect unison, Zack forgetting his pretence, Cloud stared at Zack for a moment the drag human merely shrugged and Cloud turned away from him again.

"I heard from Dio that a man in a black cape was lookin' for the Black Materia," Cait Sith informed the group as everyone gave him blank stares.

"How many men with black capes are there?" Tifa asked.

"You know, of course…my tattoo number is 13…" Red stated reluctantly as Cloud walked up to the beast and knelt down beside him and the ex SOLDIER saw the number 13 on Red's shoulder.

"How did you get that tattoo?" Cloud questioned as he ran a finger along the black number.

"Hojo put it on me," Red answered a hint of sadness in his voice. "Everything else is just war scars, but the number was done by Hojo."

Zack snorted under his breath, "figures…" he muttered quietly to himself, "ok…so bearing that in mind there should be at least 13." Zack added a little louder as he started to count on his fingers.

"You know…I think Hojo did something to those men in black capes," Aerith theorised as she walked over to Zack, Cloud and Red. "But…I really don't know what it has to do with Sephiroth though, that's why I think we should just go after Sephiroth himself."

"Yeah, me too!" Barret yelled agreeing with Aerith, "It's all just too damn confusing!"

"And…" Aerith started to say but she stopped, she stared nervously at all her friends, too scared to say what she wanted to say. "I'm sorry, forget it!" She finally said as she started to back away.

"Aerith…what is it?" Zack asked obviously concerned and he started to walk towards Aerith.

"Like I said it's nothing…" Aerith answered, "I'm actually feeling a little tired…" Aerith faked a yawn, "I think I'm gonna go to my room…" Before Zack could do or say anything Aerith had turned round and ran up the stairs to her room.

Zack was stood there for a few moments confused at what he had seen, "what was that all about?" He asked scratching his head.

"I've been wondering that myself," Tifa replied she too was confused by her friend's behaviour. "She's been acting really strange lately…but…" She turned round to face Cloud again, "what about the Black Materia?" She asked.

Cloud sighed, "You wouldn't understand even if I told you…" he stated a little sadly.

"Then don't bother explainin'!" Barret snapped irritably, "you'll only confuse me even more…We gotta take action and we're leavin' tomorrow!" Barret continued as he ran up the stairs to his room, everyone else just stared in the direction he ran off in.

"Guys…" Red spoke up as the group turned to face the beast who was sat there looking sad. "I'm number 13…am I going mad too?" Red asked fearfully.

Zack knelt down beside Red, "I know Hojo did some terrible things to you in that lab Red," Zack stated sympathetically. He knew better than anyone what Hojo was capable of, the drag human shuddered as he remembered the feel of latex gloves on his bare skin and the prick of a needle injecting Mako, Jenova cells, dragon DNA and god knows what else and his heart sank as he felt Red's pain, a pain he was all too familiar with. _"I was used in the Jenova project before Hojo did this to me…" _Zack thought to himself, _"I don't have a number…still...you can't be too careful…" _Zack noticed that Red was staring at him again so he continued, "But you've been ok so far, you haven't gone mad."

"But…" Red started to say.

"Be strong," Tifa interrupted him.

"But I…" Red started to say again.

"Stop it Red XIII!" Tifa scolded the beast causing everyone in the room to stare at her in shock. "Be strong!"

"Tifa…" Cloud uttered the woman's name unsure of what to say.

"You're not the only one who's worried!" Tifa snapped not bothering to look at Cloud.

"I don't know what's going on," Cait Sith stated quickly changing the subject, "but we're in a pretty bad situation…anyway, it's getting late, we should think about turning in." The group nodded in agreement and one by one they made their way up the stairs.

Zack was making his way to his room when Aerith poked her head out of the door to her room. "Zack…" Aerith called out to the drag human making him stop and turn to face her. "In here…" She pulled her head back in and beckoned with her finger for him to enter the room, Zack entered the room and Aerith glanced out of the door for a few seconds before closing and locking it.

"What are you looking for?" Zack asked as Aerith turned to face him.

"Where are Cloud and Tifa?" Aerith questioned as she walked over to the other side of the room.

"In their rooms probably," Zack answered as he followed her. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh…no reason…" Aerith replied vaguely, she turned her head round and grinned slyly at Zack while playing with her hair.

Zack shook his head, "come on Aerith…" he stated not convinced by Aerith's obvious lie. "I know that look, what are you planning?"

Aerith giggled slightly as she turned her back on Zack and walked towards the window with her hands behind her back. "I just thought…what with us being in the Gold Saucer and it'll be a while before we come back here and well…I thought it would be nice if Cloud and Tifa went out..."

"Out…" Zack repeated the last word Aerith said a confused look on his face. "As in…on a date…"

Aerith nodded but she didn't look at Zack, "yeah," was all she said. Zack sighed as he shook his head again, Aerith turned round to look at him. "What…" She asked trying hard not to laugh at the expression on his face. "Was it something I said?"

"You said you thought it would be nice if Cloud and Tifa went out on a date…" Zack answered truthfully, "Sounds to me like there's gonna be a lot of meddling on your part."

"And you…of course…" Aerith stated quickly giggling weakly.

"Hell no!" Zack retorted as he stared at Aerith hardly daring to believe what she was planning on doing. "I don't know what you're planning but keep me out of it."

Aerith turned round and walked back towards Zack she clasped her hands round both of his and stared up at him. "Come on Zack…" She pleaded as she pouted at him, "Cloud and Tifa are made for each other. You know it, I know it and in time they'll know it as well."

Zack sighed as he looked into Aerith's eyes, how charming they were and he knew that when she looked at him like that he couldn't refuse and Aerith knew it too as she was tenderly stroking his hands for extra affect and it was working. "Alright…" Zack gave in as Aerith smiled at him, Zack smiled back as he grabbed both of her hands. "I hate it when you do that thing with your face and your hands…" Zack complained as he pouted at Aerith, "it usually works…"

"It'll be fun…" Aerith continued to reassure him.

"Is that before or after I get the shit kicked out of me?" Zack asked in a half joking manner.

"I'm sure Cloud won't do anything to you," Aerith answered reassuringly.

"It's not Cloud I'm worried about…" Zack admitted in a slightly frightened voice, "it's Tifa I'm afraid of…" Aerith laughed when she heard this causing the drag human to scowl at her. "I'm serious…" Zack added as Aerith laughed even harder, "have you ever been on the receiving end of one of Tifa's slaps? They hurt…like hell!"

"Tifa's not like that…" Aerith stated naively, Zack just shook his head.

"You can be so naïve sometimes…" he muttered half to himself.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Aerith demanded as she placed her hands on her hips and glared at Zack.

"Tifa can be a very scary woman…" Zack explained what he meant to Aerith, "and she can punch a steel door down…"

"I know Tifa's strong," Aerith stated, she couldn't help but feel a little jealousy for the woman's strength. "But no one is going to beat you up, because no one will know that it's us." Zack snorted sceptically, "We just have to be subtle in our approach."

"Subtle…" Zack repeated giving Aerith a questioning look, "and how do you plan to pull that one off genius?"

Aerith grinned, she moved away from Zack and she walked over to her bag and pulled out a pencil and some paper. "Simple, we write a letter addressed to Tifa from Cloud," Aerith answered as Zack continued to stare at her.

"That's you're master plan…" Zack uttered in disbelieve as he walked towards Aerith.

"Yeah…" Aerith answered as Zack in front of her, "it's simple, easy to carry out and our names won't get dragged into it…" Zack sighed as he shook his head, Aerith smiled again and she put the pencil and paper on a table. "Ok, all you have to do is write the letter and we'll be set."

"Wait a minute?" Zack questioned as he stared at Aerith in shock, "why do I have to write the letter?"

"We have to make it look convincing…" Aerith stated with a pleading look, "and you once said that you were good at forging other people's signatures."

"Is there anything I can say that will get me out of this?" Zack asked, Aerith shook her head and pointed to the table in response. "I didn't think so…" Zack said with a sigh as he sat down at the table and reached out to pick the pencil up, he was focusing so much that the claws in his thumb and index finger sprang out impaling the pencil. Aerith laughed when she saw this, "what's so funny?" Zack demanded as he leapt to his feet and tried to get the pencil off his claws.

"The pencil is caught in you claws…" Aerith answered as she doubled over laughing, Zack growled under his breath as he continued to shake his hand vigorously causing the pencil to snap in half and both halves fell on to the table.

Zack sighed to himself and he reached out to pick up the end with the nib on the end, but he was so tense again that he ended up impaling the pencil again. "Grrrrrr…" Zack growled irritably as he shook his hand again, he shook it so hard that the wood on the pencil had completely shattered leaving the lead inside it stuck on his claw. Aerith laughed again but it only made the drag human even more frustrated, after a while he finally managed to get the lead off his claw.

Aerith walked over to her bag and got another pencil out before walking back to the desk. "Why don't you let me write the letter?" Aerith suggested helpfully.

"Sure…go ahead," Zack stated slightly relieved. "I don't want to wreck another pencil," he rested his hand on the table but he was already tense and frustrated at the fact that he got a pencil stuck in his claws that they sprung out again and dug into the table. Zack tried to lift his hand up but his claws were stuck in the table. "Damn it!" Zack yelled as he struggled to get his claws out of the table lifting it up as well.

"Hang on, I'll help you," Aerith offered as she looked carefully at Zack's hand. _"Hmmm…his claws come out when he tenses himself," _Aerith thought to herself, _"usually in battle…I wonder…" _Aerith reached out and she gently stroked the back of Zack's hand, this had a calming affect on the drag human and his claws retracted into his fingers and Zack was able to free himself.

"Thanks," Zack replied gratefully as he rubbed his hand, "I think it's best that you write the letter." Aerith nodded, she sat down at the desk and wrote the letter trying to make her writing as scruffy as possible.

A couple of minutes later Aerith finished writing the letter and she put it in an envelope, "here," Aerith said as she gave Zack the envelope. "Take this and slip it under Tifa's door," Aerith instructed Zack.

"Ok," Zack stated and he left Aerith's room and walked down the corridor to Tifa's room. He checked to see that the coast was clear before slipping the letter under Tifa's door, Zack knocked on the door and quickly ran down the corridor just as Tifa answered it.

"Huh…" Tifa stated as she scratched her head, "no one's there…" she looked down and she saw the envelope addressed to her. "What's this?" She asked as she picked up the envelope and closed the door. She opened the envelope and took the piece of paper out. "Dear Tifa," she read the letter out loud. "Meet me in my room, there's something I want to talk to you about. Signed Cloud." Tifa smiled when she read the letter, she walked over to the mirror and quickly brushed her hair before leaving her room and walking down the corridor. Zack and Aerith watched as Tifa arrived at Cloud's room and knocked on the door.

A few seconds later Cloud's door opened, "Tifa…" Cloud uttered surprised to see her, "this is a surprise…"

"Yeah…" Tifa stated shyly, why was she always so shy around him? "Do you mind if I come in?" She asked.

"No, not at all," Cloud answered as he moved back slightly to let Tifa in, as soon as Tifa was in the room he closed the door. "What can I do for you?"

"I got your letter," Tifa answered.

"What letter?" Cloud asked in a confused tone as he gave Tifa a blank stare.

"This letter," Tifa replied as she gave Cloud the piece of paper, "you did send it to me…didn't you?"

Cloud read through the letter, he peered up from above the paper and saw the hopeful look on Tifa's face, he sighed to himself for a moment. "Yeah…yeah, I did…" Cloud lied not wishing to hurt Tifa's feelings, "I just…didn't expect you to come so soon…"

"I know," Tifa stated, she gave Cloud another nervous stare before she walked over to the window and placed her hands behind her back. "I've been thinking…" Tifa started to say as Cloud stood there and stared at her. "About…what I was going to say…"

"What were you going to say?" Cloud asked as Tifa turned round, she smiled at the fair haired man for a moment before walking back to him.

Tifa laughed weakly, "it's kind of embarrassing…" She admitted.

"You can tell me," Cloud stated reassuringly, "I promise I won't laugh."

Tifa smiled again, "you're sweet Cloud Strife," the dark haired woman replied as Cloud ruffled his spiky hair.

"Hey Cloud…" Tifa started to say before hesitating, she shifted her weight from one foot to the other and gave Cloud a nervous look wondering if he was going to say something, but the ex SOLDIER stared intently at her waiting for her to continue. Tifa took a deep breath before continuing, "You can say no if you want but…I was wondering if…" Tifa hesitated again before throwing caution to the wind, "why don't we sneak out of here and spend some time together…" She suggested as Cloud smiled at her.

"You mean…like a date?" Cloud asked unsure of what Tifa meant although secretly he hoped that she meant it as a date.

Tifa smiled, "call it whatever you want," Tifa answered as she grabbed hold of Cloud's hand and started dragging him to the door. "Come on, let's go!" Cloud didn't protest as Tifa led him out of the room and they ran down the corridor unaware that Zack and Aerith were round the corner watching them.

"I can't believe that actually worked…" Zack stated in surprise but at the same time he was grinning as he watched Cloud and Tifa disappear round the corner.

Aerith also grinned, "See I told you it would work," she replied, "so far phase one has gone without a hitch, now it's time for phase 2." Aerith said as she crept out from behind the corner and started to walk down the corridor.

"Phase 2…" Zack repeated what Aerith said before it dawned on him what she meant. "Aerith!" Zack called after the Cetra as he ran to catch up with her. "Don't tell me you're gonna do what I think you're gonna do…"

"Someone needs to make sure it all goes smoothly," Aerith answered still grinning and not stopping, Zack just stared at her as he continued to walk along side her. "Trust me on this Zack." Zack sighed and he and Aerith followed Tifa and Cloud out of the hotel and they arrived at the station square a moment after Tifa and Cloud.

"Tonight's enchantment night, so all the attractions are free!" An attendant announced as Tifa and Cloud walked passed her, "how about it you two?" She asked as Cloud and Tifa passed her. "There's going to be an entertaining show in the Event Square."

"A show!" Tifa squealed in excitement as she grabbed Cloud by the hand and dragged him towards the tunnel leading to the Event Square. "That sounds like fun, let's go!" Cloud and Tifa leapt down the tunnel.

"A show…" Aerith repeated what the attendant had said, she turned round and grabbed hold of Zack's hand. "Come on…I want to see the show!" Aerith exclaimed excitedly.

"I thought you said you wanted to keep an eye on Cloud and Tifa," Zack stated calmly not bothering to protest as Aerith started to drag him towards the Event Square tunnel.

"I know, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun," Aerith answered and they dived into the tunnel.

Cloud and Tifa landed in the Event Square where they were greeted by an attendant, "congratulations!" The attendant boomed loudly, "you're our 100th couple today!" Zack and Aerith landed in the Event Square and heard the attendant talking to Cloud and Tifa. "You two will be the leads in tonight's show!"

Cloud stared at the attendant in shock, "what?" He asked hardly daring to believe what he was hearing, Zack was grinning at this.

"Oh, now, it's not that hard," the attendant started to explain, "just play it however you want to and the rest of the cast will cover up for you." The attendant started to walk off, "come this way," she beckoned them to follow her.

Tifa gave Cloud an amusing smile, "sounds like fun," she stated enthusiastically, "let's give it a try." Cloud and Tifa followed the attendant, Aerith waited until they were out of earshot before talking.

"Hmmm…" Aerith mused not taking her eyes off the direction Cloud and Tifa walked in, "the show would be a perfect time for them to bond…don't you think?" Aerith asked as Zack shook his head.

"And how are you gonna pull that one off?" Zack questioned already thinking that they had overstepped the mark. Aerith said nothing, but she turned round and looked at Zack with a grin on her face, it took the drag human a few seconds to realise what she was thinking. "Oh no!" Zack yelled as he shook his head frantically, "no, no, no, no, no! Don't even…no!" Zack continued to shout causing Aerith to giggle.

"Come on Zack, I just need you to…" Aerith started to plead but Zack raised up a hand to silence her.

"You can stop right there!" Zack interrupted as he gave Aerith a warning look, "I know what you're planning, I know what you want me to do and I'm not gonna do it!" Aerith opened her mouth to speak but Zack interrupted her again. "No Aerith!" Aerith continued to stare at Zack, "look…" Zack continued with a sigh, "we wrote the letter, we got them together, you even got us out here to spy on them but…what you're asking me to do now is direct intervention!" Aerith started to give Zack the puppy dog look, "I'm not gonna directly intervene!"

"It's not like anyone's gonna see you…" Aerith reasoned with Zack, "Well…they won't if you went invisible."

"Aerith…" Zack uttered through gritted teeth growing increasingly annoyed at Aerith's stubbornness. "Read my purple, reptilian lips…there is NO WAY that I am gonna…" A few moments later Zack was stood backstage invisible, _"I can't believe she made me come up here…" _Zack thought irritably to himself, he couldn't remember exactly how Aerith had convinced him to go backstage. _"You owe me Aerith…" _Zack thought again, he crept silently behind Cloud just as a fanfare started.

"Long, long ago!" The narrator's voice echoed through out the whole area, "An evil shadow appeared across the peaceful Kingdom of Galdia!" As the narrator said this smoke rose from the stage floor as red lights reflected through out the castle setting making the scenery look eerie as the crowed were in awe. Zack just shook his head wearily wondering again why he was doing this. Princess Rosa was just kidnapped by the Evil Dragon King, Valvados. What will become of her? Just then, the legendary hero, Alfred, appears!" Another fanfare started and a light shone at Cloud who just stared at the stage nervously but he didn't move. "I said…just then the legendary hero, Alfred, appears!" The narrator repeated a little irritably, Cloud still hesitated to move, Zack sighed to himself as he gave Cloud a hard shove on the back.

"Whoa!" Cloud cried out as he went flying out on to the stage, he stumbled for a second or two before regaining his balance, he was greeted by loud cheers from the audience and a group of teenage girls were stood near the front of the stage screaming enthusiastically causing Cloud to become even nervous.

"Can we have your autograph?" One of the girls called out to Cloud as she got out a pen and paper, a few seconds later the pen and paper were knocked from her hands by an invisible force as Zack (still invisible) crept out on to the stage and got into position near Cloud. "Oh…" the girl sighed sadly as she picked up her pen and paper but she turned her attention back to the stage when a guy dressed in armour danced on to the stage and stood next to Cloud.

"Oh…" The Knight uttered in pretend shock acting like he had just noticed Cloud, "you must be the legendary hero…Alfred!" Cloud looks around with a gormless look on his face.

"Pssst…" the Knight whispered to Cloud, "that's your cue…" Cloud pointed to himself, "yes you…ehem…" the Knight started again, "you must be the legendary hero…Alfred!"

Zack tapped Cloud roughly on the back of the head, "yes," Cloud uttered in response as he rubbed his head confused at why the back of his head was hurting. "It is I, the legendary Hero Alfred." Zack let out a huge sigh of relief he looked out and he saw Aerith in the audience with an amused smile and he wondered whether she was actually enjoying it.

"I knew in my soul it was you!" The Knight continued as though Cloud's hesitation never happened, "please…please save Princess Rosa!" The Knight begged as he knelt down on his knees in front of Cloud and raised his arms, Zack was stood behind Cloud trying hard not to laugh, he didn't want to give himself away. "Now please…talk to the King!" The Knight instructed as a plump middle aged man wearing a king's outfit danced on to the stage and stopped next to Cloud.

"_Why do they always have the middle aged fat guy as the King?" _Zack mused to himself as he gave Cloud another nudge indicating for him to talk to the King.

"What appears to be the problem your majesty?" Cloud asked courteously Zack gave Cloud another nudge and he bowed.

"Oh legendary hero Alfred!" The King exclaimed happily glad to see the hero, "You have come to save my beloved Rosa... On the peak of a dangerous mountain... dwells the Evil Dragon King, Valvados... who's kidnapped Princess Rosa... But... you can't beat the Evil Dragon King now! Talk to one who can help you..." As the King said this a man in a wizard costume danced on the stage and stood next to the Knight.

"_Ok…let's see what iron pants can tell us,"_ Zack thought to himself, he wished that the play would just end. _"Ok…let's talk to the Knight and get this over with…"_ Zack gave Cloud another nudge on the back of the head and the blond haired man ran towards the Knight.

"I am…a lowly Knight…" the Knight stated modestly, "how can I help you?"

"I need help defeating the Evil Dragon King," Cloud requested.

"Oh…what is going to happen next?" The narrator's voice echoed again.

"_Me ramming that microphone down your throat if you don't shut the fuck up…" _Zack thought irritably, the narrator's voice greatly annoyed him.

Evil laughter could be heard from back stage causing Cloud to jump slightly, ""oh…legendary hero Alfred…look!" The narrator yelled warningly, the audience gasped as a huge stuffed dragon flew on to the stage carrying Tifa who was dressed in a pink princess outfit.

"_Please…" _Zack thought to himself not impressed, _"It's obvious that that's a guy in a dragon suit…you'd have to be a complete idiot to not realise…" _Zack's train of thought was interrupted when he heard a metallic click, he looked to his left and he saw that Cloud had withdrew his sword and was pointing it out in front of him. _"I'd be insulting myself if I finished that sentence…" _Everyone on the stage and in the audience watched as the dragon which was carrying Tifa landed opposite Cloud.

"Gaaaaaaah!" The Evil Dragon King laughed evilly as Tifa struggled against his grip. "I am the Evil Dragon King... Valvados! I have not harmed the Princess... I have been expecting... you!"

"Please help me…legendary hero!" Tifa yelled desperately and pathetically as she continued her feigned feeble attempts at escaping. Zack tried hard not to laugh at Tifa, he knew that Tifa would kill him if she found out. "Pssst…like that…" she whispered to the dragon who merely nodded in response.

"Hang on Tifa!" Cloud yelled but Zack hit him on the back of the head again, "I mean…Rosa!"

"Gaaaaaah!" The Evil Dragon King laughed again, "Here I come, Legendary hero... Alfred! I already know... your name!" The dragon yelled as he began to charge towards Cloud, the Knight leapt passed Cloud and started to attack the Evil Dragon King, the dragon merely laughed and knocked the Knight away.

"_How pathetic…" _Zack thought to himself as he watched the Knight roll passed him and Cloud and off the stage.

"Gaaaaaaaahh! What now... Legendary Hero!" The Evil Dragon King demanded in a mocking tone, Cloud swung his sword out to his left and charged towards the Evil Dragon King, he then swung his sword round and sliced the Evil Dragon King right across the stomach. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" The Evil Dragon King yelled as he clasped hands over his stomach dropping Tifa as a result. Cloud ran up and caught Tifa.

"Cloud…" Tifa whispered the ex SOLDIER's name, "I mean…Alfred…" She quickly corrected herself as Cloud gently put her back down.

"Curse you legendary hero Alfred…Curse you!" The Evil Dragon shouted as he was pulled up off the stage by the wires that were connected to him. Cloud turned round to face Tifa he took hold of her hand and attempted to kiss it, however Zack quickly hit him on the back of the head causing the blond haired man to jerk his head up and kiss Tifa on the lips instead. Tifa was shocked at first but she soon fell into it, she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms round Cloud's neck. Cloud wrapped his arms round Tifa's waist, the audience awed as they saw this, Aerith was among the audience smiling, even Zack who was still invisible was smiling he was getting a great deal of satisfaction from this scene.

"_So he has a heart after all…" _Zack thought amusingly to himself as he continued to watch the romantic scene, he looked up and saw that pink lights were shining on Cloud and Tifa and confetti fell from the ceiling. After a while Cloud and Tifa broke apart both shocked at the fact that they kissed, but the awkward scene didn't last long as the King, the Wizard and the Knight who had long since regained consciousness walked up to them.

"Thank you Legendary Hero Alfred," The King stated gratefully as the Wizard and the Knight bowed to him. "You have defeated the Evil Dragon King and saved my daughter…true love has indeed triumphed! Now let's all return…and celebrate!" The Wizard and the Knight nodded as everyone danced off the stage.

"Oh, how profound the power of love..." The narrator spoke again as the play drew to a close. "And so the legendary hero Alfred and our story live on happily ever after." The audience cheered as the curtain closed, Zack crept off the stage and walked over to Aerith before turning visible.

"Well…I did it," Zack informed Aerith as the Cetra smiled at him, "I even got them to kiss on the lips."

"It seemed to me like you were in control of the situation," Aerith stated still giving Zack an amused smile.

Zack smiled back, "you know me," he replied, "I like to be in control of any situation I'm in." He sighed happily, "It's good to be in control of my life again." Ten minutes later Cloud and Tifa reappeared dressed in their normal clothes again, and they jumped back into the tunnel again leading to the station.

"Come on, we better follow them," Aerith stated as she grabbed hold of Zack's hand and the two walked towards the tunnel and jumped into it.

Cloud and Tifa landed back in the station again, they were panting as taking part in the play really took a lot out of them. Nevertheless they were laughing, "that was very funny," Tifa stated in an amused voice forgetting about the awkward moment when they kissed in front of the audience. Whether it was part of the play or whether Cloud was kissing her for real Tifa wasn't sure, but she decided not to let it spoil the evening's fun. Cloud and Tifa walked away from the tunnel and Zack and Aerith landed in the station. "Hey, let's go to the Gondola next," Tifa suggested as she and Cloud ran over to the Gondola tunnel and jumped down it.

"They're heading for the Gondola," Aerith stated, "perfect opportunity for them to get close again."

"Well, we can't manipulate that situation," Zack informed her, "not without revealing ourselves to them anyway."

"Let's just follow them anyway," Aerith replied as she and Zack started to walk towards the Gondola tunnel, "see how it works out." Aerith and Zack jumped into the tunnel.

Cloud and Tifa landed in the Gondola station and they saw that hardly anyone was there, she and Cloud walked up to the ticket booth just as Zack and Aerith landed in the Gondola station. "Two tickets please," Tifa requested.

The attendant nodded as they typed something into a computer and printed two tickets out, "here you are," they stated as they gave Tifa the tickets, "two tickets, enjoy the sights of the Gold Saucer." Tifa and Cloud nodded as they walked passed the ticket booth and to the edge of the platform just as the Gondola pulled in at the station, the gondola door opened and Cloud help Tifa into it.

"We can't get in there with them," Aerith stated as she realised the error in her plan, the door to the Gondola shut and it slowly set off from the station. "And now it's leaving…"

Zack looked at the moving Gondola and back at Aerith, "I think I have an idea," Zack replied with a grin, "but you'll have to hold on to me." Aerith nodded and Zack opened his wings and flapped them slowly so that he hovered slightly. The drag human grabbed Aerith round the waist and focused turning them both invisible.

"I'm…invisible…" Aerith uttered in surprise as she looked down to find that she couldn't see herself.

"Yeah…but people can still hear us and we're still solid even though we're invisible," Zack informed Aerith, Aerith nodded to show that she understood, "Are you ready?" Zack asked, Aerith nodded again, "ok, hang on." Zack flapped his wings again and he started to fly forwards, he took a swift right turn and followed the Gondola, after a couple of minutes the Gondola and Zack and Aerith were outside and the drag human and the Cetra were amazed at the starry sky.

"Amazing…" Aerith uttered in awe as she continued to look around, "the stars are so close, I feel like I can almost touch them."

"Yeah," Zack agreed, as he listened to the music and sounds coming from the theme park below them. "Hey, there it is," Zack informed Aerith as they both saw the Gondola in front of them, "hang on," Zack warned Aerith again as he flapped his wings faster to gain speed. It wasn't long before Zack caught up with the Gondola and he landed on the roof of it, he dropped Aerith who turned visible again before turning visible himself a few seconds later.

Meanwhile inside the Gondola Tifa was sat opposite Cloud and she was looking out of the window at the sights outside. "Wow…it's so pretty…" she commented dreamily, "look Cloud." Cloud looked out of the window and he saw all the multi coloured lights and heard the happy screams of people riding on the roller coaster. As the Gondola travelled further Cloud and Tifa saw the Chocobos racing in the stadium and they could hear the cheers of the crowd and the commentary of the race.

"Yeah…it is amazing…" Cloud responded agreeing with Tifa, he lay back down in the seat and relaxed, this was the first time he felt truly relaxed in ages.

Back outside the Gondola Zack and Aerith were sat on the roof looking at the wondrous sights below them. "This place is so beautiful," Aerith remarked as she reached her hand up to try and reach for the stars above her. "I feel at peace here."

"Yeah, me too," Zack agreed as the Gondola went passed the Chocobo stadium. For a while Zack and Aerith sat there staring at each other in silence each one smiling at the other, they could hear assorted sounds of people playing on the arcades in the Wonder Square.

"You never got my letters," Aerith said suddenly which caused Zack's expression to change.

"Letters…" Zack repeated the last word Aerith said as the Cetra nodded.

"Yes," Aerith replied not taking her eyes off Zack. "I sent letters to you, every morning I woke up early…hoping that you would've responded, but…I got nothing, for the last five years I received no news from you…I wasn't sure whether you were dead or…or seeing someone else…" Tears streamed down Aerith's face as all the fear and worry she had over the last five years resurfaced.

"Hey…" Zack whispered reassuringly as he placed his hand on the side of Aerith's face and stroked it. "It's ok…"

"I thought I lost you," Aerith continued sadly, "it really scared me…I thought I was never going to see you again."

"I'm sorry I didn't respond or let you know that I was ok," Zack apologised to Aerith. "But…if I called you, the Shinra would've been after you too."

Aerith smiled weakly, "that's ok," Aerith accepted Zack's apology, "you're here now, that's all that matters to me…Zack…"

"Yeah…" The drag human responded.

Aerith wrapped her arms round Zack's waist and buried her head in his chest, "don't ever leave me again," Aerith requested as Zack brought his arms up and wrapped them round Aerith holding her close to him.

"I'm not going anywhere," Zack promised as he stroked Aerith's hair, "I'm staying right here, with you."

Aerith looked up and smiled at Zack, "Zack…I love you." Aerith told him as she reached up and stroked the side of his face.

"I love you too," Zack said back as he and Aerith moved closer to each other before they kissed, Zack wrapped his hands tightly round Aerith's waist and Aerith brought her hands up behind Zack's head and started to ruffle the drag human's spiky hair. Zack leant back until he was lying with his back on the Gondola roof Aerith was on top of him and the two continued to kiss passionately as fireworks were launched into the sky as the Gondola slowly began to reach the halfway point.

Back inside the Gondola Cloud and Tifa were looking out the window at the fireworks as the night sky countless colours exploded in the night sky. "It sure is pretty," Tifa stated again she turned away from the window and sighed now was the time to ask. "Cloud…"

"Yeah…" Cloud asked as he too turned away from the window and looked at the dark haired woman.

"This is going to sound a little awkward…" Tifa started she looked down at her hands too embarrassed to look at Cloud.

"What is it?" Cloud asked again.

"When we were taking part in the show, when you…" Tifa answered.

"When I kissed you," Cloud finished Tifa's sentence.

"Yeah," Tifa replied, "I was just wondering, was it part of the show…or was there some other reason?"

Cloud sighed and he looked down at his own hands his face turned bright red. "I…I don't know…" he stammered, "I'm not sure what I was thinking at the time…if I scared you…I'm sorry."

"N…no…" Tifa stated quickly as she looked up, "it didn't scare me…_In fact…I liked it…" _Tifa said the last part to herself she closed her eyes and smiled as the image of her and Cloud stood on that stage kissing entered her mind.

"Tifa…" Cloud said the woman's name trying to get her attention.

Tifa's eyes fluttered open and she looked over at Cloud, "huh…" she uttered confused but she soon came to her senses. "Cloud I…" Tifa started to say but she hesitated, "it doesn't matter…" She finally said before falling silent.

"No go on," Cloud replied staring intently at her deeply interested in what she had to say.

"It…it's nothing…" Tifa replied she turned away from Cloud and looked out the window mentally beating herself up for not telling Cloud how she really felt, but she just wasn't ready to tell him the truth yet. The fireworks continued to explode in the sky as the Gondola reached its highest peak.

Meanwhile on the Gondola roof Zack and Aerith broke apart and sat back up, "wow…" Zack uttered as he stared at Aerith in amazement. "Even after all these years you're still a good kisser."

Aerith smiled, "thanks," she replied gratefully. "You're not so bad yourself." She and Zack looked up at the fireworks, "I had a great time tonight," Aerith remarked as smiled at Zack again.

"Me too," Zack replied, "It was fun actually."

Aerith laughed slightly, "hey…next time we come here we should take more time, go on more rides."

"Yeah," Zack agreed a few seconds later he stretched and yawned, "I think it's time we went back, leave Cloud and Tifa alone."

Aerith nodded, "yeah, you're right," she replied, Zack grabbed hold of her again and focused turning them both invisible before jumping off the Gondola and flying round until they reached the dome where the hotel was.

Meanwhile back in the hotel, Cait Sith peered round the corner making sure that the coast was clear before sneaking down the corridor. The cat grinned as he stopped outside one of the rooms and took a card key out of his pocket. Cait Sith had managed to take a spare card key to Aerith's room from the reception desk while no one was looking. He swiped the card along the card reader, the reader bleeped before the locks were removed, the giant Moogle opened the door and Cait Sith crept into the room.

"This is way too easy," Cait Sith remarked as he searched the room and found Aerith's back on the bed. The cat walked up to the bed and opened the bag and searched it until he found what he was looking for. "So this is the fabled Keystone…" Cait Sith mused to himself as he picked up the Keystone and looked at it. "I better make my way to the rendezvous point…" Cait Sith almost jumped when he heard the sound of a window opening.

In the hotel corridor Zack and Aerith flew in through the window that Zack had opened and landed on the floor. Zack released Aerith causing her to become visible again a few seconds later Zack became visible. "So…I guess…this is goodnight," Zack stated a little sadly.

"Or…you could come in my room for a while," Aerith suggested a little flirtatiously causing Zack to grin, he loved it when she was flirting with him.

"Sure," Zack replied and Aerith smiled, she took the card key to her room out of her pocket and was about to put it in the card key reader when she noticed that the light was on green.

"Odd…" Aerith uttered as she looked closer at the light on the card key reader, "I'm sure I locked the door when we left."

"You did," Zack said definitely as he too looked at the card key reader, "someone must've crept in there while we were gone."

"You think so…" Aerith asked a hint of worry in her voice.

The claws sprang out of Zack's fingers, "it's a possibility," the drag human answered as he placed his hand on the door handle. "Stay behind me," Zack advised Aerith, the Cetra obeyed and Zack opened the door and crept in, Aerith followed close behind him, the two gasped when they saw a black and white cat sat on a giant Moogle stood near Aerith's bed.

"Cait Sith…" Aerith uttered in disbelieve as the cat turned round and saw them. "What are you doing here?"

"I was errr…" Cait Sith stammered thinking of what to say.

"What are you hiding…" Zack demanded, the Moogle reluctantly turned round to reveal the Keystone. "That's the…you were trying to steal it…"

"Well I…" Cait Sith stammered again before trying to make a run for it, Aerith slammed the door shut and locked it from the inside as Zack stuck his foot out and tripped the giant Moogle up. The Moogle fell to the floor stunned for a seconds, after a while it picked itself up. "Alright…" Cait Sith admitted defeat, "I won't run or hide…yes…I was a spy, I was hired by the Shinra…"

"I trusted you Cait Sith…" Aerith uttered hardly daring to believe that one of her friends would do something like this. "We all did…how could you…"

"I couldn't help it," Cait Sith answered guiltily as he hung his head, "how 'bout we just continue like this never happened?" Cait Sith requested as Zack glared at him.

"You got a lot of nerve asking that," Zack hissed through gritted teeth as he cracked his knuckles. "Pretending to be our friend when all this time…" it suddenly dawned on him. "All those times you disappeared…you were telling the Shinra our location. That's how the Turks knew where we were, because you were telling them, when you were on the phone, you were talking to the Turks!"

Aerith stared at Zack in shock, "you knew…" She asked.

"I had a hunch," Zack answered, "and I didn't say anything because I wasn't fully sure."

"I won't deny it," Cait Sith answered as Zack continued glare at him, Zack clicked his claws together causing Cait Sith to flinch slightly. "Are you going to kill me?" He asked not taking his eyes off Zack.

"Don't tempt me…" Zack responded menacingly.

"You'd be wasting your time if you tried," Cait Sith continued as he stared down at Zack's claws. "This body's just a toy anyway," Cait Sith tapped his body as he said this and it made a metallic sound. "My real body's in the Shinra Headquarters in Midgar, I'm controllin' it from there."

"Who are you?" Aerith demanded as she placed her hands on her hips and glared at the cat. "Tell us!"

"Whoa!" Cait Sith yelled in shock as he staggered back a few paces, "I can't tell you my name!"

"Right…" Zack replied sceptically as he turned to look at Aerith, "Aerith, call Cloud, tell him we've got a spy and a thief among us."

Static began to form from Cait Sith's mouth as an entirely different voice spoke. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that," a deep and well spoken voice said through Cait Sith's mouth causing Zack and Aerith to stare at the cat in shock.

"Wait…that voice…" Zack uttered, "Reeve…"

There was more static as Cait Sith stared at the drag human in shock before the man called Reeve spoke again. "You know who I am…" Reeve asked in shock.

"I used to be in SOLDIER," Zack answered as he folded his arms. "And I recognise your voice."

"Yes…alright, my name is Reeve, I'm a Shinra executive," Reeve confessed. "But we're not entirely enemies."

"You work for Shinra!" Zack retorted angrily, "as far as I'm concerned, anyone who works for the Shinra is our enemy!"

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Reeve apologised, "but something bothers me…I think it's your way of life," Reeve started to explain a hint of sadness in his voice. "You don't get paid. You don't get praised. Yet, you still risk your lives and continue on your journey. Seeing that makes me..." Reeve paused for a moment and sighed deeply before continuing. "It just makes me think about my life. I don't think I'd feel too good if things ended the way they are now."

Zack just shook his head and stared at Cait Sith hardly daring to believe what he was hearing. "Right…and we're supposed to just believe you…" Zack snapped.

"I'm telling you the truth," Reeve replied in that same calm voice which made Zack even more annoyed.

"The truth…you wouldn't know the truth if it danced naked in front of you!" Zack argued back. "You're a spy…spies never tell the truth…and you want us to carry on like this never happened…Cid will stop smoking before we can ever trust you again!"

"I see…" Reeve stated a little disappointed at Zack's reluctance to trust him. "I guess talking won't do us any good…that's why I took the liberty of preparing this." Cait Sith held up a radio and pushed a button, there was static coming from the radio before a little voice spoke up from the radio.

"Papa…Tifa…" The little girl called out in a frightened voice.

"That's Marlene…" Aerith gasped in shock as she clasped her hand over her mouth.

"Hey…it's the flower lady…" Marlene spoke up again still in that frightened voice. "You have to…" Marlene started to say but Cait Sith pushed the stop button cutting her off in mid sentence, Aerith and Zack were just stood there staring at the cat, Aerith was too shocked to speak and Zack was just outraged beyond all words.

"There you have it," Reeve spoke up as Cait Sith put the radio away, "you'll have to do what I say, for Marlene's sake." Zack just growled under his breath, his look of shock turned into one of anger and disgust he glared at Cait Sith with his cat like eyes and suddenly without warning he swung his tail and wrapped it round Cait Sith dragging the cat off the Moogle and holding Cait Sith until he was level with Zack's face.

"Zack…" Aerith called out the drag human's name as she gave him a fearful look, she hated seeing him like that.

Zack didn't hear her, "kidnapping a little girl!" Zack screamed at the cat, "that's low! Even for you!"

"I didn't want to do this," Reeve stated guiltily which made Zack even angrier, "using dirty tricks and taking hostages...but if you want to attack, then go right ahead." Zack pulled his clawed hand back and was about to bring it forward aiming to slash Cait Sith but he hesitated, he tried again but hesitated again. In the end Zack sighed he closed his eyes and lowered his head before moving Cait Sith back to the Moogle and unravelling his tail so that the cat fell on to the Moogle Zack's claws went back into the slits in his fingers. "I didn't think so," Reeve stated as Cait Sith looked at Zack, Zack however refused to look at Cait Sith he kept his head down and his eyes shut unsure of what to do.

"What do you want us to do?" Zack asked sadly as he gave in even though his conscience was eating away at him.

"Let Cait Sith go to the rendezvous point," Reeve instructed, "the Keystone will be given to Tseng of the Turks, don't worry it will be put to good use." Zack sighed again he walked to the door and unlocked it, he then opened the door and Cait Sith walked towards it, static could be heard again before Cait Sith's voice came through again.

"Thanks Zack, "the cat replied gratefully as he passed the drag human, "and I'm sorry to get you two involved. But, we don't need to get the others involved…tomorrow, we'll be headin' to the Temple of the Ancients as planned. Sure, we'll get there after the Shinra but that's just somethin' we have to deal with." Cait Sith stated as he walked out of the room, Zack slammed the door shut and banged his head against it.

"Zack…" Aerith called out the drag human's name again as she walked towards him and put her hand on his shoulder, this had a calming affect on Zack and he lifted his head up and turned round to look at Aerith. "We did the right thing," Aerith reassured Zack.

"Did we?" Zack asked sadly as his conscience continued to eat away at him. "We let him get away Aerith…we may as well have given the Shinra the Keystone ourselves…because that's what it felt like."

"If we didn't…who knows what he would've done to Marlene," Aerith reasoned with Zack she took hold of his hand. "I know this is hard, but we'll get the Keystone back."

"How…" Zack asked forlornly.

"We'll think of something," Aerith answered as she stroked the back of Zack's hand. "But…there's not really much we can do at the moment."

Zack sighed, "I guess so…" he replied, he pulled his hand away from Aerith's and he turned to the door. "I'm feeling tired…I think I'm gonna go to bed." Zack opened the door and he walked out of it, Aerith sighed to herself before walking towards her bed.

Zack walked down the corridor when he bumped into Cloud and Tifa, "hey Zack," Cloud greeted the drag human. "Me and Tifa just got back."

"Oh…hey…" Zack responded sadly he didn't feel like talking much.

"Are you ok?" Tifa asked concerned for her friend.

"I'm fine," Zack answered a little rougher than he intended but he didn't want them to know that he wasn't really fine. "I'm just a little tired that's all," Zack continued a little softly.

"Ok," Tifa replied as she yawned, "me and Cloud are feeling a little tired ourselves, but we'll see you in the morning." Zack nodded and the drag human watched as Cloud and Tifa walked down the corridor to their rooms before going to his own where his sleep was plagued by nightmares.

Zack woke up early the next morning still feeling guilty about letting Cait Sith take the Keystone but he knew that if he didn't comply then Marlene would've paid the price for his moral objection. Zack shuddered as he thought about what horrible ways the poor girl would've been tortured if he hadn't have let Cait Sith go. _"No…I did the right thing…" _Zack thought to himself as he shook his head trying to get the horrible images out of his head. _"I couldn't let an innocent girl get hurt because of my morals…I've seen too many innocent people get hurt or killed." _Zack slowly climbed out of bed and got his shirt and boots back on before leaving the room to go downstairs, he got to the lobby where he saw his friends waiting for him.

"There you are," Cloud spoke up as soon as Zack joined the group, "we've been waiting a while for you."

"Sorry about that," Zack apologised as he stretched. "I was just…"

"Sleeping in…" Cloud finished the drag human's sentence as he gave him an amused smile. "Cait Sith was just helping me plan our next step."

"Was he…" Zack asked a little vehemently as he saw Cait Sith and glared at him, Cait Sith walked up to them.

"So you finally decided to wake up then laddie," Cait Sith remarked choosing to ignore the glare that Zack was giving him. "I was just saying to Cloud and the others that if we take the Tiny Bronco east towards the sea we should be able to find the Temple of the Ancients no problem." Cait Sith explained as Zack nodded to show that he understood he continued to look at Cait Sith's face and watched with disgust as the cat continued to fool everyone but Zack knew the truth and he was tempted to just blurt it out. Tempted to tell everyone that Cait Sith wasn't what he seemed. But he couldn't, he knew that if he told everyone the truth Marlene would've gotten hurt. Zack bit his lip as he tried to stop himself from blurting out the truth as his conscience continued to eat away at him.

"Isn't it exciting?" Aerith squealed as she jumped up and down before walking up to Zack, "we get to see all the secrets of the Cetra."

"Yeah…" Zack replied unenthusiastically causing Aerith to just stare at him.

"Are you ok?" Aerith asked her voice was filled with concern.

"I'm fine," Zack answered vaguely not wanting to admit that he hadn't forgotten about the events from the previous night.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Aerith asked again, "Because you don't look fine."

"I already said I'm fine!" Zack snapped causing Aerith to give him a hurt look, the drag human sighed feeling guilty for yelling at Aerith. "Sorry…" Zack apologised.

"That's ok," Aerith replied as she accepted his apology.

"We should get going," Cloud commanded as everyone got up from their seats.

"Bloody hell…" Cid grumbled as he slowly picked himself up from his comfortable armchair, "just when I was startin' to get comfortable…" Cloud just shook his head and rolled his eyes when he heard Cid's complaint, the group started to walk out of the lobby, Zack, Aerith and Cait Sith were the last ones to leave. The drag human and the Cetra were about to leave when Cait Sith walked up to them again.

"Zack, I was wondering if I could have a word with ye," Cait Sith requested as Zack and Aerith turned round to look at him.

"Anything you have to say to Zack, you can say it in front of me," Aerith demanded as she folded her arms and glared at Cait Sith.

"It's ok Aerith," Zack stated calmly as he placed a hand on the Cetra's shoulder, "we won't be too long."

"But…" Aerith started to protest as she looked from Zack to Cait Sith and back at Zack again. "Fine…" Aerith sighed exasperatedly, "I'll wait outside." Aerith turned round and walked out of the lobby Zack turned round to face Cait Sith his arms were folded. Static sounded from Cait Sith before Reeve's voice came out through the cat's mouth.

"I wanted to thank you Zack," Reeve stated gratefully as Cait Sith bowed his head in appreciation. "For not telling the others about last night…about me…it took a lot of courage."

Zack merely snorted, "I didn't do it for you," Zack snapped coldly not taking his eyes off the animatronic cat. "I did it because I didn't want an innocent little girl getting hurt."

"Marlene wouldn't have come to any harm either way," Reeve promised kindly. "I would've made sure of that."

Zack raised his eyebrow as he heard that, "and…you didn't tell me that because…" Zack demanded as Reeve chuckled slightly.

"Would you have let Cait Sith go with the Keystone if I'd have told you?" Reeve questioned in response as Cait Sith gazed inquisitively at Zack, the drag human opened his mouth to speak but he soon closed it again and he sighed. "I didn't think so," Reeve continued. "Look, I don't want to argue with you Zack, let's just forget that the whole thing ever happened, for everyone's sake."

"You think it's that easy…" Zack asked through gritted teeth, "you put me and Aerith in a very difficult position!"

"I know and I'm sorry for that," Reeve apologised as Cait Sith hung his head. "I didn't want you to find out, not like that."

"You mean you didn't want us to find out at all," Zack corrected as he jabbed his finger into Cait Sith's chest. "I hardly slept last night because my conscience was eating away at me! Of course, I wouldn't expect a Shinra Executive to understand!"

Reeve laughed when he heard that, "I understand more than you think," Reeve replied light heartedly. "I may work for Shinra but I personally have nothing against you and the others, in fact, I admire your bravery."

"I don't need any admiration from you!" Zack snapped.

"Well, you don't want to keep the others waiting any longer," Reeve quickly changed the subject. "I'll put Cait Sith back on," static could be heard again and Cait Sith was back online.

"I think we better get goin' laddie," Cait Sith stated as he and Zack left the hotel and met everyone outside the tram station.

"What took you guys so long?" Tifa asked when Zack and Cait Sith joined the group.

"Just making sure we had everything," Zack lied as Cait Sith gave him a thumbs up sign.

"Ok," Tifa replied buying Zack's lie, "we spoke to one of the attendants and they said that the cable car is fixed so we can get going." Zack and Cait Sith nodded and the group got into the cable car and took them outside the Gold Saucer back to North Coral. The group left North Coral and returned to the Tiny Bronco and with Cait Sith's help they headed east until they reached an island completely covered in jungle a large temple stood out above the trees. The group navigated through the jungle until they came across a rope bridge leading to the temple.

Aerith ran forwards on to the rope bridge and collapsed to her knees as she looked up at the temple. "This is...the Temple of the Ancients..." The Cetra uttered in a trance like voice as her friends stared at her, "I...I know...I feel it...the knowledge of the Ancients…floating…You could become one with the Planet, but you're stopping it with the strength of will. Is it for the future? Is it for us?" Aerith asked she was talking to no one in particular everyone continued to stare at her before Zack ran over to her and knelt down beside her.

"Aerith, are you ok?" Zack asked his voice was filled with concern, Aerith stood and turned round to face him smiling as she did so.

"I'm fine," The Cetra answered nodding, Zack stood up as the rest of the group walked up to them.

"What are you saying?" Cloud asked Aerith, "Do you understand?"

Aerith didn't answer for a while she ran across the rope bridge and stopped at the bottom of giant stone steps leading to the temple. "You're uneasy... But happy?" Aerith continued to question the mysterious invisible entity as she looked around. "Is it because I'm here?" Aerith asked she heard a whisper in her ear. "I'm sorry..." Aerith apologised in a confused manner, "I don't understand." Aerith ran back to the group just as a figure wearing a black cloak staggered out of the temple and collapsed at the entrance. "I want to go inside!" Aerith demanded as she turned round and ran back towards the temple the others followed her and they found the hooded figure on the floor.

"Ok…this is just fuckin' weird!" Cid cursed loudly as he tapped the hooded figure with his foot. "What's the deal with this guy?"

"They're Sephiroth's clones!" Tifa snapped as she glared at Cid, "weren't you listening to what Cloud was saying last night?"

"I slipped in and out," Cid answered indifferently as Tifa continued to scowl at him.

"…Black…Materia…" The cloaked man muttered weakly as Zack knelt down beside the man and checked him.

"Hmmm…this man has the number 9 on his shoulder," Zack commented as he ran his finger along the thick black number, he looked back at the man and saw that he died. Zack stood up as the man disappeared in a flash of green light. The group walked into the temple where they saw Tseng sat down with his back resting against a giant stone altar.

"Tseng…" Aerith uttered the Turks name as the group walked up to him.

"What happened?" Zack questioned as everyone stared at the Turk.

"Uhhhh…" Tseng moaned softly as he staggered slowly to his feet, "I've been had…" Tseng uttered weakly as he slumped back down again. "It's not the Promised Land…Sephiroth's searching for…"

Cloud and Zack leapt back when they heard that. "Sephiroth…he's inside!" They both yelled in perfect unison.

Tseng slowly lifted his hand up, "see for yourself…" he answered as he let his hand fall, "damn…" he cursed as he weakly banged his fist on the stone floor. "Letting Aerith go was…the start…of my bad luck…but the President was wrong…"

"You're wrong!" Aerith suddenly snapped as she placed her hands on her hips and glared at Tseng, "the Promised Land isn't what you imagined!" Aerith then turned away from the group and folded her arms, "and I'm not going to help!" She yelled stubbornly, "Either way, there was no way the Shinra could've won!" Aerith ran to a corner of the room and started sobbing the group just stared at her in shock.

"…Pretty harsh…" Tseng uttered breaking the awkward silence not taking his eyes off Aerith's back. "Sound's like…something you'd say…" Tseng staggered slowly to his feet again, he limped over to Cloud reached into his pocket and gave the object to Cloud. "The Keystone…place it…on the altar…" Tseng instructed as he pointed at the altar behind him.

Cloud looked down at the Keystone and stared at Tseng, "how did you get this?" He demanded.

"Errr…you know…that's not really important…" Zack quickly spoke up before Tseng could answer, "the important thing is we're here and we can investigate the Temple of the Ancients just like we planned…right Cloud?"

Cloud gave Zack a confused stare, "right…" he answered, Tseng merely shrugged and he limped over to the other corner of the room and eased himself back down.

Zack walked over to Aerith, "Aerith…are you ok?" the drag human asked out of concern as he placed his hand on Aerith's shoulder, Aerith continued to sob. "Is it because we're in the Temple of the Ancients?" Zack questioned trying to find out what was wrong with Aerith. "I know being in a place that your ancestors built is a little daunting…and we'll understand if…you don't want to go in there."

Aerith wiped the tears from her eyes and turned round to look at Zack, "it's not that," Aerith whispered tearfully. "It's just that…Tseng's with our enemy, the Turks, but I've known him since I was little..."

"You've known Tseng for that long…" Zack asked clearly shocked at this revelation, Aerith nodded.

"Yes," she answered, "Tseng was the one who tried to convince me to go with him to the Shinra, but I didn't want to."

"I see…" Zack replied as he took a moment to take this information in, "are you sure you want to go through with this?" Zack asked Aerith.

Aerith nodded, "yeah, let's go inside." Aerith, Zack, Cloud, Tifa and Cait Sith walked over to the altar and Cloud placed the Keystone on the altar. The Keystone started to glow as the holes on its surface started to fill with a florescent green coloured substance, when all the holes were filled the Keystone glowed even brighter as a green coloured beam of light shot out of the Keystone and hit the ceiling, the light beam refracted into several beams of light which arched round the immediate area. Barret, Cid, Red, Yuffie and Vincent leapt back as a green coloured barrier surround the altar, several green coloured runes appeared on the altar and the ground underneath Cloud, Tifa, Zack, Aerith and Cait Sith's feet. A green outline of a circle drew itself round their feet and the ground within the outline lifted itself up to reveal a circular platform and it slowly descended to the lower floors of the temple much to the surprise of the others.

"What the fuck was that all about?" Cid cursed as he stared open mouthed at the circular hole in the ground where his friends were stood a few seconds before.

"Hmmm…quite the elaborate entrance," Red mused obviously intrigued. "The Cetra are just full of surprises."

"Well this is just too damn complicated for my likin…" Barret replied irritably as he folded his arms.

"I do hope the others are alright," Red voiced his concern for his friends.

"They'll be fine," Yuffie stated confidently, "they can take care of themselves…I hope…" She added a little more nervously as she gave a worried look at the hole in the ground.

Fifteen minutes later the circular platform lands on solid ground, Zack, Cloud, Tifa, Aerith and Cait Sith got off the platform which started to ascend again as soon as the group was off it. The group started to look around. "Holy shit!" Zack yelled as his voice echoed through the vast room, there were countless paths, stairs and tunnels which led to other parts of the temple, a labyrinth if there ever was one.

"Words... feelings... So many of them here." Aerith uttered hardly daring to believe what she was saying.

"This is a really strange place," Tifa remarked as she looked all around her.

"Right you are lassie," Cait Sith agreed with Tifa, "I think it would be best if we all stuck together."

"I know this is going to be tough, but if we keep at it, we'll be able to do this," Aerith encouraged her friends. "Let's try this way," she suggested as she pointed to the steps near where they were stood. The group walked down the steps to the floor below them where they saw a strange creature wearing a purple cloak stood there. It turned round and saw the group, this caused the creature to panic and it ran off. "Hey wait!" Aerith called after it and she started to run after it.

"Aerith!" Zack called out the Cetra's name as he ran after her, he didn't want Aerith to wander off in the Temple it was much too dangerous. Cloud, Tifa and Cait Sith followed, the group searched high and low for the creature even ending up in many different places before they eventually found the creature in a small room. The creature just stared blankly at the group too scared to move. "Phew!" Aerith panted as she and the others stopped to catch their breaths. "We finally caught up to you. I'm sorry. You waited for me."

The creature nodded as Cloud, Tifa, Zack and Cait Sith stared blankly at it, "what is it?" Cloud asked as Aerith turned round to look at the group.

"Oh…Those are the spirit bodies of the Ancients." Aerith started to explain as she gestured at the strange creature, "they've been away from their Planet for a long time to protect this Temple. Over the many years, they've lost the ability to talk. Actually, they didn't need words from the beginning because there was only one objective for those left in the Temple."

"So…these creatures protect the Temple?" Zack questioned as Aerith nodded.

"Yes," Aerith answered before she turned round and walked towards the creature. "Please talk to me," she pleaded, the creature didn't talk rather it communicated through gestures which Aerith was finding difficult to understand. "No good…" Aerith stated sadly as she shook her head, "I don't understand the rest. Are you afraid...? Is it because Sephiroth is in the Temple? Or something else?" The creature merely stared at Aerith before it pointed towards a door on the other side of the room. "You want us to go that way?" Aerith asked and the creature nodded. "Thank you," Aerith thanked the creature before the group walked through door the creature pointed at.

They found themselves at a long flight of stairs and they climbed down them when they found another creature stood there, it ran as soon as it saw them. The group followed the creature and it ran through a long tunnel the group skidded to a stop as they heard the sound of a mechanism. "Whoa!" Zack yelled, he leapt back as a giant boulder rolled passed and smashed into the wall. "Where did the boulders come from?"

"It must be some kind of defence mechanism," Aerith answered as the group continued to watch the boulders to roll passed them.

"We have to get across somehow," Cloud stated as Zack turned round and stared at the blond haired man in shock.

"Are you crazy?" Zack shouted at Cloud as he pointed at the rolling boulders, "We'll be crushed!"

"Well if you have a better idea then go ahead, I'm all ears!" Cloud argued back as he glared at Zack. Tifa, Aerith and Cait Sith shook their heads as they continued to watch the boulders, Tifa then noticed something about the boulders.

"Hmmm…" Tifa mused out loud causing Cloud and Zack to stop arguing. "Those boulders have holes in them," Tifa stated as she pointed at one of the boulders, the group looked and they saw a hole in it.

"That's it!" Cloud suddenly had an idea, "if we time it right and get under the holes as the boulders rolling we won't get crushed." Cloud then smiled at Tifa, "great job Tifa."

Tifa smiled back, "thanks." The group then started to navigate the long path making sure to crouch underneath the holes to avoid being crushed. After a while the group reached the other side and the mechanism was switched off causing the boulders to stop rolling.

"Phew…we made it…" Aerith stated happily as the group stopped to catch their breath.

"That sure took a lot out of us…" Zack panted.

The group was about to continue when something caught Aerith's eye, the Cetra leapt back in shock before she turned round and ran back down the path and turned left at the centre to find a large pool. "Oh no…guys come quick!" Aerith called out to her friends as they ran up to her, as soon as they caught up with Aerith the pool began to emit a purple glow. "It's full of the knowledge of the Ancients." Aerith uttered in a trance like voice. "No... not knowledge... consciousness... a living soul..."

"It's just a pool of light how can it…" Zack started to ask but Aerith raised her hand to silence him.

"Shhh…it's trying to say something," Aerith stated as she knelt down beside the pool. "I'm sorry…I don't understand…" Aerith apologised, she had a confused expression on her face. She lay down and placed her ear closer to the pool as if listening to it. "What…what is it?" She asked the pool as she suddenly stood up, "...Danger? An evil... consciousness...show? You're going to show me?" Aerith questioned, the rest of the group walked up to the pool and looked into it just as it glowed white and a scene started to materialise in it.

"What is this?" Tifa asked as the scene continued to take form.

"It's going to show us now," Aerith answered as the group saw Tseng in the pool, he was in a large room with pictures carved into the wall, he was looking round with great interest as Elena ran up to him.

"Tseng…what's this?" Elena asked her superior as she looked all around her with amazement. "Can we find the Promised Land with this?"

Tseng turned round to face Elena, "I wonder…" Tseng mused as he stroked his chin, "Anyway, we have to report this to the President."

Elena nodded, "be careful Tseng," Elena said as she walked passed Tseng placing her hand on his shoulder as she did so.

Tseng smiled, "yeah…" he replied, "hey Elena…how 'bout dinner when all this is over?" Tseng asked, Elena stopped and she turned round her eyes were wide with shock before she smiled and nodded.

"Th…thank you very much…" Elena stammered unable to contain her excitement, "if I may be excused…" Elena requested, Tseng nodded and Elena ran off excited at being asked out to dinner by Tseng.

As soon as Tseng was alone he looked down for a moment before turning back to look at the wall. "Is this the Promised Land?" Tseng asked himself as he continued to look at the wall. "No, it can't be." The group continued to watch the scene and almost gasped when they saw Sephiroth slowly descend from the ceiling and kneel on the floor. The Turk had obviously sensed Sephiroth's presence as he turned round to face the silver haired man. "Sephiroth…" Tseng uttered the man's name as Sephiroth grinned evilly at him.

"So you opened the door…well done," Sephiroth congratulated Tseng as the Turk slowly walked up to him.

"This place…what is it?" Tseng asked as he stopped a couple of inches away from Sephiroth.

"A lost treasure house of knowledge," Sephiroth informed Tseng as he slowly stood up. "The wisdom of the Ancients," Sephiroth laughed as he raised his arms. "And I'm becoming one with the Planet."

"One with the Planet…" Tseng repeated Sephiroth's last words confused by what the man meant.

Sephiroth laughed again as he lowered his arms, "You stupid fool! You have never even thought about it." Sephiroth mocked as he shook his head, "All the spirit energy of this Planet. All its wisdom... knowledge..." "I will meld with it all. I will become one with it... It will become one with me."

Tseng stared at Sephiroth in shock. "…you can do that…" He asked.

Sephiroth grinned again, "the way…lies here…" he answered as he laughed. "Only death awaits you all. But do not fear." Sephiroth continued as he withdrew his sword and charged at Tseng leaving a gaping sword wound across the Turk's stomach. Tseng moaned in pain as he fell to the floor clutching his stomach, "For it is through death that a new spirit energy is born. Soon, you will live again as a part of me." Sephiroth finished his explanation as he stood over Tseng's body with his sword still drawn he wiped the blood off his sword on to Tseng before the scene flashed and the pool returned to normal.

"Did you see that?" Aerith asked as she looked at her friends.

"That explains why Tseng was injured when we found him at the entrance," Cait Sith added.

"The room with murals on the wall, where is it?" Zack questioned.

"We're almost there," Aerith answered as the group moved away from the pool.

"Sephiroth is here right?" Cloud asked as his friends nodded, "no matter what he thinks, it's going to end here, I'm taking him out!" Cloud yelled as he grasped the handle of his sword.

"Count me in too," Zack added as he cracked his knuckles.

"Yeah," Tifa agreed, "we're all in this together." The group carried on down the path they didn't even notice that an image of Sephiroth descended into the pool before shooting out of it and disappearing. The group entered a room that was in the layout of a clock, they walked slowly and carefully along the hands of the clock before they entered a room with a large door and a series of tunnels. Another creature was stood at the door but it freaked out as soon as it saw the group and it ran into one of the tunnels.

Zack walked over to the door and he pulled hard on the handle, after several failed attempts he kicked the door in frustration but he soon regretted it when he felt a sharp pain in his foot. "What gives…the door's locked…I'll bet you anything that creature has the key." Zack and Cloud ran into the tunnel that the creature ran into find that they were in a tunnel on a lower platform. "What the fuck…" Zack cursed as he looked round. "This is just screwed up!" Cloud and Zack kept chasing the creature through the tunnels but they still weren't getting anywhere, Aerith, Tifa and Cait Sith watched as Cloud and Zack ended up being warped to different areas of the room.

After watching this Tifa thought as she looked at the tunnels, "hmmm…" the dark haired woman mused, "I wonder…" She walked to the edge of the platform and jumped off it before entering the tunnel at the far right. The group could hear the sound of a scuffle with in the tunnel and a moment later Tifa came out of the tunnel dragging the creature behind her.

Cloud and Zack stood there staring at Tifa in shock, "how…" they both uttered at the same time as Tifa grinned at them.

"The tunnels had a certain sequence to them," Tifa started to explain as she, Cloud and Zack made their way back up to the large door where Aerith and Cait Sith were waiting. "You just had to know the sequence."

"And you knew the sequence?" Cloud asked obviously impressed, Tifa shook her head.

"I just guessed," Tifa answered as Zack and Cloud continued to stare at her.

"It was a lucky guess," Cloud stated grinning at Tifa.

Tifa grinned back, "I guess I am lucky," Tifa replied.

"In more ways than one," Zack added as he winked slyly at both Cloud and Tifa before walking slightly ahead of them.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cloud demanded as he and Tifa quickened their pace to keep up with the drag human.

"I think I'll keep that to myself for now," Zack answered still grinning slyly.

"Come on tell us," Tifa begged, "We want to know."

"Errr…no," Zack replied, Cloud and Tifa continued to beg and plead but Zack still refused to talk. They eventually made their way back to the large door, the creature dropped the key and Tifa let it go. Aerith picked the key up and she used it to unlock the door, the group entered and they looked around to find the pictures on the wall that they saw in the pool.

"This is the room with murals…" Aerith stated as the group looked round.

"I wonder what all these pictures mean…" Tifa mused as she reached out and touched the mural nearest to her, Cloud was pacing round swinging his arms determinedly.

"Where are you? Sephiroth!" Cloud's voice echoed through the room, the room suddenly flashed with a white energy, the group turned round to see that Sephiroth was kneeling down in front of them. The group watched as Sephiroth then stood up and raised his arms.

"So cold…" Sephiroth uttered emotionlessly as he stared at the group with his cold, empty eyes. "I'm always by your side…"

"What do you mean…'always by your side…'?" Zack questioned as he took a couple of steps forwards. "Are you talking about Jenova?"

Sephiroth merely shrugged, "come…" was all he said before he floated upwards and disappeared. The group followed and they found Sephiroth stood with his back to them admiring one of the murals, he had his arms folded. "Splendid," Sephiroth mused as he turned round and walked towards the group. "A treasure house of knowledge."

"I don't understand what you're saying…" Cloud stated as he and his friends gave Sephiroth confused stares.

Sephiroth laughed in response and he disappeared again in a flash of light, the group followed and they found Sephiroth looking at mural which showed a large, round object hurtling towards the ground. "Look well…" Sephiroth instructed as he pointed at the picture.

"At what?" Cloud demanded still confused at what Sephiroth was saying.

"At that which adds to…" Sephiroth answered as he raised his arms, "I am becoming one with the Planet!" Sephiroth lowered his arms and laughed before he floated upwards again. The group carried on running until they reached a stone altar at the end of the room and they saw Sephiroth slumped on the floor leaning against the altar laughing. "Mother…it's almost time…" Sephiroth uttered as the group continued to stare at him. "Soon…we'll become one…"

"You really have lost it," Zack stated not taking his eyes off Sephiroth as the silver haired man slowly stood up.

"And how do you plan to become one with the Planet?" Aerith demanded she placed her hands on her hips and glared at Sephiroth as her friends got into fighting stances. Sephiroth drew his sword as he turned to face Aerith.

"It's simple," Sephiroth started to explain as he slashed the air with his sword. "Once the Planet is hurt, it gathers spirit energy to heal the injury." Sephiroth slashed the air again and chuckled. "The amount of energy gathered depends on the size of the injury," Sephiroth continued to explain as he drove his sword into the ground. "...What would happen if there was an injury that threatened the very life of the Planet?" Sephiroth asked, "Think, how much energy would be gathered!" Sephiroth pulled his sword out of the ground and his whole body pulsed with electrical energy. "Ha, ha, ha!" Sephiroth laughed manically, "and at the centre of that injury, will be me! All that boundless energy will be mine." Sephiroth laughed again as he slashed the air with his sword a third time, "By merging with all the energy of the Planet, I will become a new life form, a new existence" Sephiroth explained, "by melding with the Planet... I will cease to exist as I am now. Only to be reborn as a 'God' to rule over every soul!"

The group stared at Sephiroth in shock, hardly daring to believe what they were hearing, "an injury powerful enough to destroy the Planet…" Aerith uttered with a gasp. "Injure the Planet…"

Zack took a few steps forwards and glared at Sephiroth, "if you're thinking of destroying the Planet, then you're even more insane than we thought you were!" Zack yelled not taking his eyes off Sephiroth.

Sephiroth laughed manically, "Behold that mural!" Sephiroth announced as he pointed at the mural with the round object. "The Ultimate Destructive Magic…Meteor!"

"That'll never happen!" Cloud shouted determinedly as his friend's nodded in agreement.

Sephiroth laughed again before the energy pulsating round his body glowed brighter, Cloud and the others had to shield their eyes because the light was so bright and Sephiroth rushed passed Cloud and disappeared. "Wake up!" Sephiroth's voice spoke in Cloud's head, when the white light faded the group unshielded their eyes and ran round the room to search for Sephiroth.

"Where are you Sephiroth?" Cloud yelled as he ran off.

Tifa sighed when they couldn't find Sephiroth, "well…he's long gone now," she stated as Zack shook his head.

"I think he's still in the Temple somewhere," Zack replied as he stroked his chin, "if we hurry, we might be able to find him, right Cloud…errr…Cloud…" Cloud didn't answer, Zack and the others ran back in the direction they came from and they found Cloud looking at the mural of Meteor crashing into the Planet, his body was pulsating with the same electrical energy as Sephiroth.

"Cloud…" Tifa called out the blond haired man's name, she was about to walk up to him when Zack stopped her.

"I wouldn't…" Zack warned, "Something's not right here…"

Cloud turned his head round to face the others and they were shocked to see that his eyes were pearly white, his pupils and irises had disappeared and he had an evil grin on his face before he turned back round to face the mural. He repeated the same action again, "ha, ha, ha…" Cloud laughed manically which sent a chill down his friends' spines. "…Black Materia..." Cloud uttered in a voice that wasn't his own. "Ha, ha, ha…call Meteor…"

"Cloud…snap out of it!" Zack called out his friend's name, this seemed to have an affect on Cloud as he brought his hands up to his head and shook it vigorously trying to fight off whatever was controlling him.

"Cloud…" Cloud said his name still in that trance like state, "I'm…Cloud…" For a moment Cloud seemed to have returned to normal but after a while the force that was controlling him took charge again forcing Cloud to shake his head. "How should I…" Cloud asked in that same trance like voice as he began to flail his arms and legs in all directions much to the shock of his friends. Eventually he was able to regain control of himself and the white energy that surrounded him disappeared. "…I remember!" Cloud stated his voice had returned to normal. "I remember my way." Cloud turned round to face the group and they relieved when they saw that his eyes had returned to normal, he walked over to them.

"Cloud…" Tifa called out the man's name again just to make sure that he was still with them.

Cloud stared at them all, "Mm…what's wrong?" He asked as he looked from Tifa to Zack to Aerith to Cait Sith and back at Tifa again. "Is there something wrong?"

Everyone looked at each other, "…it's nothing," Aerith answered reassuringly, "so don't worry about it." Aerith then nodded at Tifa prompting her to say something.

"Right Cloud," Tifa spoke up agreeing with Aerith, "It was nothing."

"Sephiroth got away," Zack informed Cloud.

"Don't worry about it," Cloud replied, "I think I understand what he was saying." Cloud turned back to face the mural. "So this must be Meteor right?"

Aerith nodded as the rest of the group turned round to look at the mural, "so…this thing's capable of wiping out an entire planet?" Zack questioned as he shuddered at the thought.

Aerith walked closer to the mural and reached her hand out to touch it, "this must be magic," she answered, "Just like Sephiroth was saying." Aerith turned round to look at the others, "The Ultimate Destructive Magic, Meteor. It finds small drifting planets with its magic." She then turned round to face Cloud, "And then collides with them…" Aerith continued nervously, "this Planet might get wiped out entirely..." Zack was about to open his mouth to speak when the ground beneath the groups feet trembled.

"Ok…that doesn't sound good…" Zack remarked as he got into a fighting stance, everyone else took their weapons out and also got into fighting stances as the tremors got worse.

"Sephiroth?" Cloud yelled wondering if it was one of the silver haired man's tricks.

"Ha, ha, ha! It wasn't me!" Sephiroth's voice echoed through out the room, a few seconds later the door that led to the mural room was ripped off its hinges as a giant red dragon stomped into the room and roared at the group.

"My…what big teeth you have…" Zack muttered sarcastically as the dragon roared again, Zack stared at the dragon for a second, before leaning forwards and roaring back at the dragon.

The group just stared at the drag human in shock, "Somehow I think Zack might be a wee bit scarier than the dragon…" Cait Sith remarked as the dragon stood up on its hind legs and struck at the group with its talons. Everyone leapt out of the way to dodge the claws Cloud ran towards the dragon dragging his sword behind him he leapt up and swung his sword horizontally and Cloud felt the sword strike the dragon's tough hide as it made a clanging sound but the sword didn't cut into the flesh. Cloud tried again but the sword still didn't penetrate.

"Oh yeah…" Cloud uttered as he realised that sword strikes wouldn't work on the dragon, the dragon batted Cloud away with its tail but Cloud back flipped in mid air and landed safely on his feet only to perform another back flip to avoid another strike from the dragon's tail. Tifa charged at the dragon and jumped as the dragon slammed its forearms into the ground causing an earthquake as it stood on all fours again. She landed feet first on the ground and carried on running towards the dragon pulling her fist back as she did so. The dragon snapped at her with its powerful jaws but she ducked and thrust her fist upwards upercutting it in the jaw. The dragon's head snapped back upon impact, before it had chance to recover Tifa performed a backwards somersault on it the dragon roared in pain as Tifa's feet bounced off its face. Tifa then picked it up as though it was a paper weight and slammed it into the ground, Tifa turned round and grinned at Cloud before the dragon recovered and knocked her back with its forearm. "Tifa!" Cloud yelled the woman's name as he leapt up and caught her before she slammed into the wall.

"Thanks Cloud," the woman replied gratefully as Cloud put her back down again. Zack ran passed them and spread his arms out wide his claws sprung out of his fingers as he ran. The dragon breathed a jet of flames but Zack easily avoided it, the dragon lunged forwards aiming to head butt Zack but the drag human reached out and grabbed the dragon by its horns. The dragon roared viciously as it pushed hard trying to force Zack back but the drag human still held on tightly to the dragon's horns, beads of sweat poured down Zack's face and landed on the floor as he still pushed the dragon back.

"!" Zack yelled at the top of his lungs as he dragged the dragon to the side knocking it completely off balance however the dragon slashed Zack's arm with its claws as it fell. "Aaahhh…" Zack moaned in pain as he looked at the now bleeding wound on his arm, a gust of wind suddenly round Zack and green light criss-crossed through wound completely healing it. Zack looked behind him to see Aerith stood there her eyes fluttered open and she smiled. "Thanks Aerith!" Zack shouted gratefully, Aerith nodded in acknowledgement. A few moments later the dragon staggered to its feet but Zack leapt on top of it knocking it back, the dragon was stood on its hind legs revealing its soft underbelly as it struggled to get Zack off it. Cloud saw his chance he charged at the dragon again and when he was near enough he swung his sword round and stabbed it deep into the dragon's underbelly. The dragon roared in pain as it felt the sword stab it, Cloud stood there for a moment holding the handle of his sword before he leapt upwards dragging his sword up cutting through the dragon's innards, Zack leapt out of the way just as Cloud cut through the dragon's neck. Cloud landed on the ground and rolled to the side as the dragon fell to the ground, its head was a few inches away from Cloud a piece of red materia rolled out from the dragon's forehead and landed at Cloud's feet.

"Hmmm…materia," Cloud stated as he bent down to pick it up, "I wonder which one it is." Aerith walked up to Cloud and he handed the materia over to her she put it into her materia pouch for safe keeping and the group walked back towards the altar. "What's this?" Cloud asked as he pointed at the altar.

Aerith leaned forwards to examine the altar more closely, "there's something written on it," she answered as she deciphered the writing. "...B.l.a.c.k... M.a.t.e.r.i.a."

"Black Materia…" Zack repeated what Aerith said, the Cetra nodded.

"Hey!" She exclaimed as realisation hit her, "Black Materia! What should we do Cloud?" She asked as Cloud stepped closer to the altar and shook it causing the ground underneath them to shake.

"Whoa!" Tifa yelled as Cloud reached out and grabbed her arm to keep her balanced, "what was that?"

"Hang on, "I'll ask," Aerith answered as she walked away from the altar the room glowed white and pink as something was communicating with Aerith, "I don't understand…" Aerith stated, "what? Really…" Aerith walked back to the others just as the room stopped glowing. "They said that the Temple itself is the Black Materia," Aerith informed the group as they all stared at her.

"Did I hear you correctly?" Zack questioned as he gave Aerith a confused stare, "did you just say that this whole place is the Black Materia?" Aerith nodded, "ok…" Zack stated, "I've heard of stranger things…"

"If the Temple is the Black Materia, then no one can take it, right?" Cloud asked as he stared inquisitively at Aerith.

"Hmmm…" Aerith mused as she looked back at the altar, "it's pretty hard. You see this is a model of the Temple, and inside it is a device, which gets smaller each time you solve a puzzle." Aerith explained as she pointed at the model Temple on the altar, "As the model becomes smaller, you become smaller too. Until it's small enough to fit in the palm of your hand."

"Why do I get the feeling it's gonna be hard?" Zack asked with an exasperated sigh.

"I'm getting a bad feeling about this too," Tifa admitted.

"So, if we solve the puzzles, the Black Materia will get smaller and smaller and we can take it out?" Cloud questioned ignoring Zack and Tifa, eager to find out more.

Aerith nodded, "Yes, but there's one thing..." Aerith answered warningly, "You can only solve puzzles inside the Temple. So, anyone who solves the puzzle will be crushed by the Temple."

"So, we solve the puzzle…we get crushed…I so love these catch-22 situations…" Zack muttered sarcastically as Cloud scowled at him.

"I see…" Cloud replied choosing to ignore Zack's sarcastic comment, "the Ancients didn't want dangerous magic to be taken out of the Temple so easily..."

"Cloud…I think we should leave it alone…" Tifa told Cloud a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Tifa's right," Zack agreed with the dark haired woman. "I mean we don't wanna be messin' around with forces we don't understand."

"No! We've got to think of a way to get it out," Cloud disagreed as he pointed at the model. "Because Sephiroth has lots of different flunkies. It's nothing to him to throw their lives away to get the Black Materia." Cloud then turned back round to the altar, "this place isn't safe." Cloud tapped the model again and the ground shook.

"And how do you plan on getting the Black Materia out of there, genius?" Zack asked as he folded his arms and stared at Cloud. "How are you gonna get it out without getting us all killed?"

Cloud was about to open his mouth to speak but Cait Sith had beaten him to it, "why don't you let me solve the puzzle?" Cait Sith suggested as the group stared at him, "don't look so surprised."

"Are you sure wanna do this?" Zack asked his feelings of hatred for the cat had evaporated after he heard what Cait Sith had proposed.

Cait Sith nodded, "I'm sure laddie," Cait Sith answered, "as you know I'm only a robot anyway, besides, my body will be used for the future of the Planet."

Aerith leaned down and kissed Cait Sith on the cheek, "that's very brave of you Cait Sith," Aerith complimented the cat.

"Thanks lassie," Cait Sith replied gratefully as he smiled at Aerith, he looked back at Cloud and Zack who nodded. "All righty then! Leave it all to me!" Cait Sith told the group as walked closer to the altar, "Please hurry, you've got to get out of there!" He warned the group as they turned round and ran out of the mural room, they ran back through the room with all the tunnels and ran along the hands in the clock room and they found themselves in a room lit by torches with a door at the end of it.

"That must be the exit," Zack stated as the group ran over to the door, Aerith however stayed put. Zack turned back round to face her, "Aerith come on, we don't have much time!" Zack called out to the Cetra.

"Something's not right…" Aerith whispered nervously, "I can sense it…" A few moments later a low rumbling sound could be heard.

"What was that?" Tifa asked as the group got into fighting stances.

"It sounds like it came from over there," Zack answered, the group looked over at the door and watched in horror as two giant clawed hands burst out of the wall followed by a large, ugly head. "Ok…that thing's ugly!" Zack yelled as the beast roared at the group, the group took out their weapons and prepared to fight the monster. The monster slammed its fists on the ground causing stalagmites to fall from the ceiling, everyone leapt out of the way. Energy formed in Cloud's sword and remained there for a few seconds before Cloud slammed his sword down to the ground releasing that energy as beam which surged across the ground and struck the monster wounding it. Zack and Tifa then ran up, dodging the monster's hands as it slammed its fists into the ground again trying to crush them. Zack grabbed hold of Tifa's arm and tossed her into the air before leaping up himself, Tifa adjusted the straps on her gloves before she pointed her fists downwards and slammed them into one of the monster's fists stunning it.

"Humph…you're not so tough!" Tifa taunted the monster with a grin, Zack also grinned when he saw this. He twisted his body round in mid air so that his clawed hands were pointing downwards. He focused so that ice formed in his hands before letting himself drop and digging his claws deep into the monster's other fist completely freezing it because of the ice power within his claws. Zack then swung his tail round striking the monster's fist, completely smashing it, the monster roared in pain as it saw its fist being shattered into millions of pieces. The monster glared at Zack and it narrowed its eyes as it fired beams out of them aiming to turn Zack into stone but the drag human leapt out of the way and the beam completely missed him. Tifa leapt off the monster's remaining arm as it started moving again, she used her speed advantage to dodge the monster's fists and the stalagmites that were falling from the ceiling. Aerith tossed Tifa a piece of materia, the dark haired woman caught it and put it into her glove and her hand was engulfed in flames. Tifa leapt up charged up the fireball to make it increase in size before thrusting her fist forwards and shooting the fireball at the monster the fireball hit the monster's stomach and started to burn away its flesh. Tifa then charged up another fireball and launched it at the monster's fist completely incinerating it.

Cloud charged right up to the monster's exposed area and started hacking away at it with his sword, Zack and Tifa joined in the fray hitting the monster with everything they had causing it roar in pain, because it now had no arms all it could do was snap at them with its jaws. Aerith reached into her materia pouch and pulled out the piece of materia that came out of the red dragon. "I guess now would be a good time to test out the new materia," Aerith whispered to herself as she closed her eyes and concentrated. A loud banging sound could be heard and a large grey coloured dragon crashed through ceiling and landed on the ground with a thud in front of Aerith. "Bahamut, the dragon king…" Aerith uttered, "Of course…" Bahamut turned its head round and gazed at Aerith with its blue eyes waiting for an order. "You know what to do Bahamut…" Aerith told the beast, the dragon nodded as it opened its regal wings and took to flight. It hovered there staring at its opponent, Cloud and the others saw the dragon.

"Where'd the dragon come from?" Tifa questioned as the dragon slowly opened its mouth.

"I dunno," Zack answered, "but I think it's best that we get out of the way!" Zack, Cloud and Tifa ran away from the monster as a ball of light started to form in Bahamut's mouth growing bigger and bigger. Bahamut held the ball there before firing it at the monster, the giant ball of light struck the monster's exposed area causing the ground to shake up on impact. The monster moaned in pain as it was engulfed by the light, Cloud, Zack, Tifa and Aerith had to shield their eyes. When the light disappeared the monster was completely destroyed and the wall with the door returned to its original state.

"Thank you Bahamut," Aerith thanked the dragon, Bahamut bowed its head in acknowledgement before it disappeared.

"You summoned that…" Zack asked obviously impressed.

"Yeah," Aerith answered as she smiled down at the materia. "Looks like that new materia came in handy." The group were about to leave when Cloud's phone rang, Cloud took the phone out of his pocket and answered it.

"Hello?" Cloud spoke down the phone as he put it on loud speaker.

"Cloud, it's me Cait Sith," Cait Sith's voice answered on the opposite end of the phone. "Where abouts are you?"

"We're just heading out of the exit now," Cloud answered.

"Good," Cait Sith stated, "Because things are gonna get pretty messy from here on, I must admit, I'm a little nervous about the whole thing."

"Don't worry, Cait Sith," Aerith said encouragingly down the phone. "We believe in you, just be strong, ok."

"Thanks guys," Cait Sith sniffed down the phone as he hopped closer to the altar. "Hearing that…it really means a lot…I feel so happy, because I know that I can protect the Planet too."

"I guess…sometimes even robots have dreams," Zack commented down the phone.

"I guess that's true," Cait Sith replied, as he stopped at the altar, "The Ancients sure did a good job at making this," Cait Sith complimented the Cetra's knowledge. "There are plenty of stuffed toys like my body around, but there's only one me!" Cait Sith shouted happily down the phone as he danced, "don't forget about me, even if another Cait Sith comes along!"

"We won't Cait Sith," Tifa promised down the phone, "and thank you."

"I guess this is goodbye," Cait Sith stated a little sadly as he turned to the altar. "I'm off to protect the Planet!" Cait Sith hung up on the phone before he touched the model and everything went white. Cloud, Zack, Tifa and Aerith ran out of the Temple and across the rope bridge where the rest of their friends were waiting when the Temple collapsed in on itself.

"What the hell was that?" Cid cursed as he and the others witnessed the Temple collapsing.

"Turns out the Temple was the Black Materia all along," Zack answered as Barret, Cid, Vincent, Yuffie and Red all stared at him. "I know it sounds crazy but it's the truth."

Aerith started running back over the rope bridge, "come on!" She called out to the group, "we have to get the Black Materia." Cloud, Zack and Tifa followed Aerith across the rope bridge and up the steps leading to the Temple and they found a giant square shaped hole where the Temple used to be and lying in the centre of it was a small glowing orb. Cloud and Aerith climbed down the side of the hole and landed at the bottom.

"That's the Black Materia," Cloud stated as he walked over to the small black orb and picked it up. "As long as we have this, Sephiroth won't be able to use Meteor," Cloud reassured Aerith as he took a closer look at it. "Hmmm…can you use this?" Cloud asked Aerith.

The Cetra shook her head, "Nope, we can't use it right now," Aerith answered as she stared at the Black Materia. "You need great spiritual power to use it."

"You mean lots of spiritual energy…" Cloud questioned as Aerith nodded.

"That's right, One person's power alone won't do it." Aerith explained as she clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. "Somewhere special. Where there's plenty of the Planet's energy..." Aerith's eyes fluttered open and she stared at Cloud. "Oh yeah! The Promised Land!"

"The Promised Land…" Cloud repeated giving Aerith a questioning stare, "no but…"

"Sephiroth is different," Aerith cut in, "he's not an Ancient."

"Well if that's the case, he shouldn't be able to find the Promised Land," Cloud stated relieved.

The whole area flashed with a white light and Sephiroth was standing at the edge of the pit. "Ah…but I have," Sephiroth corrected Cloud.

"Sephiroth…" Zack uttered the man's name as Sephiroth turned round to look at him. "How could you find the Promised Land if you're not Ancient?"

"Humph…foolish boy…" Sephiroth scoffed as he floated over the pit. "I'm far superior to the Ancients!" Sephiroth boasted as he raised his hands in the air. "I became a traveller of the Life stream and gained the knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients. I also gained the knowledge and wisdom of those after the extinction of the Ancients, and soon, I will create the future!" Sephiroth laughed evilly as he lowered his arms again.

"You really are deluded!" Zack screamed up at Sephiroth.

"We won't let you do it!" Aerith yelled as she glared up at Sephiroth, "the future isn't only yours!"

"Ha, ha, ha! I wonder…" Sephiroth mused as he floated higher and was surrounded by white energy before disappearing. "Wake up!" Sephiroth's voice echoed in Cloud's head.

Cloud clutched the side of his head and closed his eyes as fell to the ground, "sh…shut up!" Cloud yelled trying to fight Sephiroth's control over him.

Sephiroth floated down and knelt in front of Cloud, "there Cloud…" Sephiroth spoke softly to Cloud as though he was addressing a child. "Good boy…" Cloud released his head and staggered slowly to his feet, his eyes fluttered open to reveal the irisless and pupiless glowing white eyes. Cloud started to slowly walk towards Sephiroth.

"What's he doing?" Tifa asked in a worried voice as she and Zack looked down.

"He's gonna give Sephiroth the Black Materia," Zack answered, he too was panicking. "Cloud!" Zack yelled the man's name hoping to snap him out of it, but Cloud didn't hear him.

"Cloud don't!" Tifa joined in, she too was hoping to snap Cloud out of it, but Cloud didn't hear her either.

"Cloud…please…" Aerith begged Cloud but this too had no affect, despite his friends' best efforts to snap him out of it Cloud still continued to walk towards Sephiroth who had now stretched his hand out. As soon as Cloud was near enough he reached out with the hand that was holding the Black Materia and he slowly dropped it into Sephiroth's outstretched hand despite his friends' protests.

Sephiroth laughed loudly as he slowly stood up and grinned evilly at Cloud, "…well done…" He congratulated Cloud, "it seems you were useful after all." Sephiroth laughed again as he floated back into the air and disappeared in a flash of white light.

"Sephiroth!" Zack yelled the man's name but Sephiroth had already gone. "He's gone…" Zack sighed.

"And he took the Black Materia with him…" Tifa added a hint of worry and sadness in her voice, she was confused at what was happening to Cloud. The woman and the drag human looked down to see that the energy round Cloud had disappeared and his eyes had returned to normal. Cloud fell to the floor clutching his head confused and upset at what he had done.

Aerith walked up to him slowly, "Cloud…" She whispered the ex SOLDIER's name, she had a concerned expression on her face. "Are you alright?"

"I…I gave the Black Materia to Sephiroth…" Cloud uttered in shock, he looked up and straightened out for a moment before falling at Aerith's feet.

Aerith bent down to look at him, "Cloud…be strong ok," Aerith advised as Cloud started writhing on the ground.

"Urrrrrrgh... What have I done!" Cloud yelled frustrated with himself as he frantically shook his head.

Aerith knelt down beside him and placed her hand on his head, "Cloud, you haven't done anything…" Aerith replied trying to be reassuring, "it wasn't your fault." Cloud slowly looked up at Aerith, his eyes had gone pearly white again, he slowly staggered to his feet and continued to stare at Aerith with that blank expression. "Cloud…" Aerith called out the man's name as she started to back away from him, Cloud pulled his fist back and punched Aerith in the face knocking her back. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Aerith cried out as she landed hard on the ground, Cloud slowly walked towards her.

"Aerith!" Zack yelled in a panicked tone as he saw what was going on he ran to the edge of the pit his muscles were tensed.

"We have to do something!" Tifa shouted she too was panicking as she placed her hands over her mouth shocked at what she had seen.

Cait Sith walked up to them and looked down, "Oops!" The cat yelled in surprise as he saw Cloud pick Aerith up and throw her to the other side of the pit. "This looks like I came at a bad time, I'm Cait Sith number 2," Cait Sith introduced himself while bowing slightly, "pleased to meet ya."

"!" Aerith's scream echoed through out the whole area as Cloud continued to attack her.

"We'll talk later…" Zack said quickly to Cait Sith as he leapt off the edge and started running down the wall, he looked to his right and saw Tifa running passed him. The dark haired woman leapt off the wall and looked down to see that Cloud was standing over Aerith who was knelt down on the floor shielding her eyes as she waited for Cloud to hit her again. Cloud pulled his fist back to punch Aerith again but Tifa landed on Cloud's back and struggled to get him away from Aerith.

"Cloud, stop it!" Tifa yelled as she continued to fight Cloud, however in his current state Cloud was much stronger than usual and he easily knocked her out of the way. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Tifa cried out in pain as she slammed back first into the wall of the pit, Cloud turned his attention to Tifa and started to walk towards her. However before Cloud had chance to attack Tifa, Zack leapt off the wall and landed on Cloud wrestling him to the ground as Tifa slowly staggered to her feet.

"Tifa! Get Aerith out of here!" Zack called out to Tifa as he had Cloud in an arm lock, "I'll deal with Cloud!" Tifa nodded and while Zack was fighting Cloud off she ran over to Aerith and helped her up.

"Cloud…Zack…" Aerith uttered as she leaned on Tifa for support.

"They'll be ok…" Tifa stated reassuringly as she helped Aerith back up the wall. "Zack can handle Cloud."

"Come on Cloud, snap out of it!" Zack screamed at Cloud as the blond haired man struggled against Zack's grip but Zack continued to hold on strong. "Cloud, I don't want to hurt you! But if you carry on like this then I'm gonna have to!" Cloud eventually broke free of Zack's grip and he saw Tifa helping Aerith up the wall, Cloud walked towards the wall and was about to climb up it to finish what he started but a fist shot out hitting Cloud in the face knocking him out. Cloud fell to the ground as Zack walked up to him massaging his hand. "Sorry Cloud," Zack apologised as he picked the unconscious Cloud up and slung him over his shoulder. "But it's for your own good." Zack climbed up the wall with Cloud on his back and he caught up with the others, no one spoke as the group made their way back to the Tiny Bronco and set sail for another location. The group eventually arrived in Gongaga village much to Zack's dismay but he had more pressing issues.

Zack carried Cloud into the inn, he got a lot of funny stares but he ignored them, he was far too used to it to even care. Zack then entered one of the rooms and placed Cloud on the bed just as Tifa entered the room. "Will he be ok?" Tifa asked concerned for her friend.

Zack nodded, "he'll be fine," Zack answered as he turned round to look at Tifa. "How's Aerith?" He asked.

"She's ok, a little shaken but she's ok," Tifa replied as she took a seat next to Cloud she reached out and stroked Cloud's hair sighing deeply. "Zack…" Tifa started thinking of how to say it, "if you hadn't have acted like you did…I'd hate to think of what would've happened…"

"It's ok," Zack replied as he smiled at Tifa. "Cloud's not been himself, there's something weird going on."

"I know," Tifa agreed, "I just wish there was something I can do."

"Just be there for him," Zack answered, "that's all you can do right now."

Tifa nodded, "yeah, you're right," she replied, Tifa had returned to stroking Cloud's head and whispering in his ear as Barret stomped into the room.

"So this is where you've been hidin'…" Barret's voice boomed in the room, Zack and Tifa nodded. "How is he?" Barret asked concerned for his friend.

"Still unconscious," Zack answered, "I guess I punched him harder than I thought."

"You punched him…" Barret questioned as he glared at Zack.

"If he hadn't things could've been worse," Tifa defended Zack, "besides, none of it was Cloud's fault."

Barret sighed, "I guess you're right," he sat down next to Tifa, "want me to stay with ya?" He asked as Tifa smiled and nodded.

"I'm gonna go see how Aerith's doing," Zack told the two as he left the room. He walked down the short corridor to the room at the end and he knocked on the door, "Aerith…" Zack called through the door there was no answer. "Aerith…" Zack called again a little louder he pushed down on the door and saw that it was unlocked. Zack walked into the room and saw that the bed was empty, but the covers were almost hanging off the bed as though someone had slept in it recently. The drag human walked over to the wardrobe and opened it to find that there were no clothes or anything, he ran out of the room and out of the inn. "Aerith!" Zack yelled as he searched the entire village for the Cetra, he eventually left the village and searched the jungle for Aerith, he left the cover of the trees and ended up on the beach where he saw Aerith stood there with all her belongings. "Aerith!" Zack called out Aerith's name as he walked up to her, Aerith turned round and was surprised to see Zack.

"Zack…" Aerith uttered as she staggered back a few paces, she still had bruises where Cloud had hit her but other than that she wasn't seriously hurt.

"What are you doing out here?" Zack asked his voice was filled with concern as he reached out to hug her, "you should be resting."

"I…" Aerith stammered unsure of what to say, she felt Zack's arms as they were wrapped round her, she could feel the warmth of Zack's breath on her neck and it made her feel sad and she sighed deeply.

"What is it?" Zack questioned as he looked down at her and started stroking her chestnut brown hair, "what's wrong?"

Aerith looked up at Zack tears formed in her eyes, "Zack…I don't quite know how to tell you this but…" Aerith started she could feel herself wanting to cry but she knew that she couldn't she didn't want to make it any more difficult than it already was. "I'm leaving…" She blurted out suddenly.

"Leaving…" Zack repeated Aerith's last word as he stared at her in shock, "why?"

"There's something I have to do," Aerith answered vaguely as a teardrop fell out of her eye and landed on Zack's arm, Zack reached up and wiped Aerith's eyes.

"Come on Aerith, don't cry…" Zack whispered softly to the Cetra, "what is it you have to do?"

"Saving the Planet," Aerith answered, "it can't wait any longer."

"Let me come with you," Zack stated as he stroked the side of Aerith's face. "We can deal with this, just the two of us, and everyone else wouldn't have to know."

Aerith sighed sadly as she looked away from Zack, not wishing to look at him. "No Zack…" Aerith replied shaking her head, "this is something I have to do alone…" Aerith stated matter of factly as she lifted Zack's arms up and walked away from him.

Zack started to follow her, "you're not serious…" Zack uttered still in shock Aerith turned round to look at him she wasn't looking at him with her normal playful grin or her warm smile. But a look of sadness that Zack had never seen before and upon seeing that face he knew. "You are…" Zack whispered quietly as he looked down for a moment before looking back up at Aerith. "You can't go!" Zack yelled passionately tears were forming in his eyes.

"I have to…" Aerith whispered sadly she turned round and tried to walk off again but Zack reached out and grabbed hold of Aerith's arm and dragged her back to him.

"I can't let you go Aerith…" Zack whispered in Aerith's ear as he wrapped his arms tightly round her refusing to let go, he was crying now the tears falling freely from his eyes and landing in Aerith's hair giving it an overall glossy look. "What if…" Zack almost choked on his question not wanting to think that anything bad would happen to Aerith. "What if Sephiroth shows up…I won't be there to protect you…"

"I'm aware of the risk Zack…" Aerith choked, she too was crying as she buried her head in Zack's chest staining his shirt with her tears. She drew circles in his chest as she listened to his heart beat and it made her feel even worse. "But I have to do this…" Aerith continued as she found her voice again, "and I have to do it alone." Aerith disentangled herself from Zack and she turned round to leave.

"So…what we said last night at the Gold Saucer meant nothing to you did it?" Zack asked as he wiped the tears from his eyes but they just kept flowing.

Aerith turned round to face Zack, "How can you say that?" Aerith uttered hardly daring to believe what she was hearing. "Of course it means something to me!" Aerith shouted as angry tears trailed down her face. "It means the world to me!"

"You made me promise to never leave you, to always be by your side!" Zack reminded Aerith as his tears landed on the ground at his feet. "And now…now you're doing exactly what you didn't want me to do!"

"This is different!" Aerith snapped at Zack as she waved her arms around for emphasis.

"Is it?" Zack retorted as he too waved his arms around, "because from where I'm standing, it's exactly the same!"

"Don't you dare!" Aerith argued back as she jabbed her finger into Zack's chest, "don't you dare compare this to when you left five years ago because it's not the same!" Aerith continued to scream at Zack. "I'm leaving to save the Planet! You left to go on a mission, you could've easily have said no!"

"I came back didn't I?" Zack snapped seeming to believe that Aerith still resented him, "ok…I was five years late but I still managed to get back to you! I risked everything so I could see you again!" Aerith just stared at Zack in shock, she had never heard him shout like that at her before and it frightened her. Zack saw the shock in her face, "you still resent me for that…don't you?" Zack asked, his voice had softened a little.

"No…" Aerith uttered still in shock.

"Is that why you're leaving?" Zack asked.

"Why does this have to be about you?" Aerith yelled again not believing that Zack would say that.

"Because you were planning on leaving without telling anyone, without telling me!" Zack answered, "How do you expect our relationship to work if you don't tell me anything, if you don't trust me."

"There won't be a relationship, there won't even be a future if I don't do this," Aerith replied, "it's hard enough that I have to leave, but…how do you think I'd feel if you came along and got killed for something that was my responsibility?"

"And how do you think I'd feel if I let you go and you got into trouble, and I wasn't there to help you?" Zack asked in response, Aerith hung her head but she didn't answer. "I'd feel terrible," Zack continued, "knowing that I let you go off on your own…please Aerith," Zack grasped Aerith's hands in his. "At least let me come with you…"

Aerith looked up at Zack, she looked into his tear stained face and she felt guilty but at the same she knew what she had to do and it didn't involve Zack. "I'm sorry…" Aerith apologised sincerely as she pulled away from him, "but I have to go alone."

"Aerith…" Zack called out to the Cetra as he reached out to her but Aerith just stepped away from him.

"Please Zack…" Aerith begged the drag human as the tears started to fall again, "please don't make this any harder than it already is…"

"So what…" Zack asked sadly not taking his eyes off Aerith, the tears started flowing again as he realised that Aerith had made up her mind. "Goodbye and good luck…is that what you want me to say? Well I can't! I can't say it!" Zack shouted passionately as he clasped a hand on his chest where his heart was, "because…that would just break my heart…"

Aerith walked back up to Zack and placed a hand on the side of his face and started stroking it tenderly. "Zack…" Aerith whispered the drag human's name as she continued to stroke the side of his face. "I have to do this…for you and me as well as for everyone else," Aerith explained, "I need you to take care of Cloud, Tifa, and the others. They'll need you more than ever now."

Zack brought his hands up to Aerith's face and started to stroke it tenderly, "the way you're talking…it sounds like…you won't be coming back…" Zack uttered.

"Well…I'd be lying if I said there was no risk involved," Aerith answered truthfully. "But I'll be back."

"Don't go promising something you might not be able to keep," Zack warned as he leaned closer to Aerith.

"Maybe…I'm just being optimistic," Aerith answered as she ran a finger down Zack's lips.

"Or naïve," Zack corrected Aerith as he smiled weakly at her. "But I guess…that's what attracted me to you." Zack and Aerith leaned closer to each other their lips smacking against each other before they kissed passionately. Aerith raised her arms above Zack's head and started ruffling his hair as Zack brought his hands down to Aerith's waist, the drag human licked Aerith's lips as he tasted her strawberry flavoured lip stick. Aerith uttered a low moan as her lips parted way so that her tongue met with Zack's each one exploring the other's mouth and taking in the exotic tastes. Aerith then brought her hands down to Zack's back just under the base of his wings, she started rubbing the area under his wings causing the drag human to utter a low moan of pleasure as his wings opened and wrapped themselves round Zack and Aerith.

After a while the two broke apart and Aerith started to back away slowly she brushed her hand across Zack's face one last time before backing away to the water's edge. "Don't worry," Aerith reassured Zack as she blew him a kiss goodbye, "I'll be back when all this is over, I promise." Zack nodded to show that he believed her, Aerith smiled ruefully before she boarded a small raft behind her, she grabbed a long bamboo stick and started to steer the raft away from the shore, she gave Zack a last tearful look before she drifted away to sea and was gone.

Zack stood at the side of the shore staring tearfully at the spot Aerith had stood moments before, he thought about the passionate kiss they shared before Aerith departed. He thought about the promise that she had made and a feeling of dread surged through his veins as he couldn't help but think that something might go wrong. He stayed there for a few moments before deciding to return to Gongaga, he made his way back to the inn where he saw Barret and Tifa still watching over Cloud. "Hey," Zack made his presence known as Tifa and Barret turned to face him, "how is he?" Zack asked as he pointed at Cloud who was lying in the bed.

"Still unconscious," Tifa answered sadly as she looked over at Cloud.

"Shit!" Barret cursed loudly, "Tifa told me everythin' that went on down in that pit. She said that Cloud went nuts!"

"That's one way of describing it…" Zack muttered half to himself as Tifa scowled at him, "come on Tifa, we all know that Cloud went loco down there."

Tifa sighed, "I know," she answered, "but it wasn't his fault."

"Hell, I know that!" Barret agreed with Tifa, "and so does Zack."

Tifa nodded, "everyone came in to see how Cloud was doing," Tifa told Zack.

"Fat load of good that did…Spiky's still unconscious," Barret commented as he rolled his eyes.

"Anyway…" Tifa quickly changed the subject, "how's Aerith?" Tifa asked Zack concerned for her friend.

"She's fine…" Zack answered vaguely as he turned his attention to Cloud.

Tifa smiled, "that's good," she stated relieved that her friend was ok. "I'm thinking of going to see her later, see how she's doing."

"I don't think that's such a good idea…" Zack replied quickly as he looked away from Tifa, "she needs her rest."

"Zack, is there something wrong?" Tifa asked as she grabbed hold of Zack's hand to get him to turn and face her. However the drag human refused to look at the dark haired woman.

"Nothing…" Zack answered lying through his teeth.

"Zack…" Tifa said the drag human's name using her serious voice, Zack looked up at Tifa. "What happened?"

Zack sighed, he knew that he had to tell his friends the truth. "Aerith…" Zack started before hesitating, "Aerith's gone…" Zack ended quickly as Barret and Tifa stared at him.

"What do ya mean she's gone?" Barret yelled at Zack as he grabbed the drag human by the collar of his shirt and started shaking him.

"Where did she go?" Tifa asked worry was etched on her face.

Zack hung his head sadly, "I dunno," he answered as Barret released him. "She didn't say."

"Why didn't you go after her?" Tifa demanded as she jabbed Zack's chest with her finger, "you should've gone after her!"

"I know!" Zack snapped so suddenly that it made Barret and Tifa jump. "But she said she had to go alone."

"Still…we should go and look for her," Tifa stated urgently.

Zack sat there for a moment as he thought about what Aerith had told him, _"I need you to take care of Cloud, Tifa and the others. They'll need you more than ever now," _Aerith's requested repeated in Zack's mind. Zack sighed, "right now…all we can do is make sure that Cloud's ok," Zack stated still remembering what Aerith wanted him to do.

"But…" Tifa started to protest.

"I know you're worried Tifa," Barret cut in agreeing with Zack. "Hell we both are, me and Zack, but we don't even know where Aerith's headin', assumin' she hasn't told ya anythin' Zack…" Barret asked as he looked at the drag human.

Zack shook his head, "she hasn't told me where she was going," Zack answered, he sighed as he hid his face in his hands. "I feel so helpless right now."

"Hey, we all feel like that at times," Barret stated wisely, "but…there really ain't much that we can do for Aerith right now…at least…until we find out where she is."

Zack and Tifa nodded, they knew that Barret was right. Tifa grabbed a damp cloth from the bedside table and started to dab it over Cloud's forehead. Zack sighed again as he looked up at the ceiling still worried about Aerith. _"Aerith…wherever you are…please be ok…" _Zack silently prayed to himself as he continued to stare at the ceiling thinking about Aerith's departure.

It had been three whole days since Aerith had left Gongaga to try and save the world from Sephiroth, Aerith shivered and wrapped her jacket closer to her body as the biting cold wind hit her. She looked around as she continued to steer the raft with the bamboo stick and was shocked to see icebergs floating in the water. "It sure is cold out here," Aerith uttered as she shivered again, Aerith suddenly thought about the passionate kiss that she shared with Zack before leaving and she sighed deeply as she remembered his lips pressing against hers and his heart and her heart beating together as though they were one. She remembered the warmth of Zack's giant wings as he wrapped them round himself and her in the heat of the moment and she wished more than ever now that Zack was with her, keeping her safe and warm. _"No…I have to do this alone…I don't want Zack or anyone else to get hurt." _She thought to herself determined to not let the fact that she was missing her friends deter her from what she had to do.

Aerith continued to steer the raft until she reached the shore on the Northern Continent. She carefully placed the bamboo stick on the raft before walking along the frost covered grass which made a crunching sound as she took each step. She eventually reached a strange looking settlement where the buildings were made out of the skeletal remains of giant creatures that may have existed many millennia ago. Aerith looked around the settlement with keen interest as she noticed several people digging, she smiled as she climbed a ladder leading to a large tent and approached a group of people who were digging. "What are you doing?" Aerith asked curiously as the group looked up and smiled at her.

"This is Bone Village," a man dressed in a green uniform explained to Aerith. "It's a settlement where we excavate artefacts that have been buried in the ground."

"What kind of artefacts?" Aerith questioned with keen interested.

"Ancient artefacts, that are said to have been used by the Cetra themselves," the man answered, "excavation is a slow process, but we enjoy our work."

"I see…" Aerith stated she looked around and she spotted a path which lead into a strange looking forest. "Hey, what's through there?" Aerith asked as she pointed towards the forest.

"That's the Sleeping Forest," a young woman wearing a purple uniform answered. "Legend has it that the forest confuses weak minded people, unless of course they had a special artefact. That's what we're trying to find now."

"What is this artefact?" Aerith enquired still curious.

"It's called a Lunar Harp," the woman answered, "apparently if a person plays the harp as soon as they enter the Sleeping Forest, can awaken and can find their way."

"Right…" Aerith replied, "Well thanks a lot, I really learned something," Aerith thanked as she walked towards the forest.

"Hey wait!" The man called after Aerith, "you can't just walk in there it's much too…" But Aerith wasn't listening she just carried walking straight into the forest and disappeared, the man sighed and the group returned to their work.

A few minutes later the group were approached by a man wearing a black cape, "you wouldn't happen to know where I might find a woman wearing a pink dress would you?" The man asked as the group looked up to see him.

"She went into the forest a few minutes ago," the man wearing the green uniformed replied as he pointed towards the Sleeping Forest. "We tried to tell her that it was too dangerous to go in there but she wouldn't listen, just walked straight in. I gotta admit, she's got a lot of guts though, is she a friend of yours?"

"I guess you could say that," the man wearing the black cape answered as he smiled coldly at the group. "Thank you," he replied gratefully as he walked to the entrance of the forest.

"Wait!" The woman wearing the purple uniform called out to the man, "you can't go in there, not without a Luna…" the man just carried on going ignoring the woman's advice, "why do we even bother…" the woman sighed before returning to her work.

Aerith walked through the Sleeping Forest and looked around in awe at the trees, how different they were to all the other tress she had seen on her travels. "It's beautiful here…" Aerith uttered dreamily, although the Sleeping Forest had the ability to confuse week minded people it didn't affect Aerith at all. But it was through entering the forest that Aerith thought about Cloud attacking her and the ex SOLDIER lying unconscious on the ground after Zack had punched him. "Cloud probably blames himself for what happened," Aerith stated sighing sadly to herself as she looked up at the treetops. "I wish there was someway I can tell him that everything's ok…" It was then that Aerith had an idea, she clasped her hands together and bowed her head, closing her eyes as she did so and she muttered silent words to herself as though she was praying. _"I hope this works…"_

Meanwhile back in Gongaga Cloud was tossing and turning in his sleep haunted by nightmares of him being controlled by Sephiroth. _"Cloud…can you hear me?" _Aerith's voice echoed in Cloud's head.

"_Yeah…I can hear you…" _Cloud answered wearily, _"sorry about what happened."_

"_Don't worry about it," _Aerith replied politely brushing Cloud's apology aside.

"_I can't help it," _Cloud stated sadly still feeling guilty for what happened.

Aerith giggled slightly, _"Oh…" _she replied playfully questioning Cloud's statement. _"Then why DON'T you really worry about it," _Aerith advised as Cloud moaned in his sleep. _"And let me handle Sephiroth, so you don't have a breakdown, ok." _Aerith giggled as Cloud began to stir and found himself lay on the ground in a strange looking forest, he sat up and saw Aerith stood over him smiling.

"_What is this place?" _Cloud asked as he staggered to his feet and looked around.

Aerith stood up straight and placed her hands behind her back and started to pace round, _"this is called the Sleeping Forest," _Aerith answered as she gestured all around her with her hands. _"It leads to the City of the Ancients." _Aerith then turned round to face Cloud, _"It's only a matter of time before Sephiroth uses Meteor."_ Aerith explained a hint of worry in her voice. _"That's why I'm going to protect it. Only a survivor of the Cetra, like me, can do it." _Aerith then turned round and walks further into the forest before turning round to smile at Cloud. _"The secret's just through here," _she stated before shaking her head. _"At least it should be," _she clasped a hand on her heart and closed her eyes as she smiled again. _"I feel it…it feels like I'm being led by something," _Aerith opened her eyes again and smiled warmly at Cloud. _"Then I'll be going now, and I'll be back before all this is over. Give my love to Zack."_

"_Aerith…" _Cloud called out the Cetra's name but she turned round and ran deeper into the forest before completely disappearing from Cloud's sight. Cloud started to run after her, desperate to catch up with her, but he didn't seem to be going anywhere. A few seconds later Cloud was blinded by a white light as Sephiroth floated down from above and landed opposite Cloud. _"Hmmm…" _Sephiroth mused as he smiled evilly at Cloud, _"she's thinking of interfering? She'll be a difficult one, don't you think?" _Sephiroth asked not taking his green eyes off Cloud, Cloud however refused to answer. _"We must stop the girl, soon," _Sephiroth threatened before he turned away from Cloud and followed Aerith deeper into the forest, Cloud tried to run after him but he was once again blinded by a white light.

"Huh…Uhhhh…" Cloud moaned as he began to stir again, this time waking up in the real world. He opened his eyes and he saw that he was lying in a bed.

"Cloud! You're awake!" A familiar voice shouted out to him, Cloud looked up and he saw Tifa, Barret and Zack looking down at him.

"Tifa, Barret, Zack…" Cloud called out their names as they all grinned at him.

"Nice of you to finally join the living," Zack stated cheerfully as Cloud stared at him.

"Zack…I was punched in the face not involved in a hit and run," Cloud replied as he rubbed his face wincing in pain as he felt the area where he was hit.

"Yeah…about that…" Zack started choosing his words carefully before throwing all caution to the wind. "Look…you were going nuts, I had to do something to stop you."

"I know," Cloud stated as he nodded to show that he understood, "thanks."

"You looked like you were havin' a nightmare," Barret remarked as Cloud shook his head. "How are ya feelin'?"

"Well…I still feel a little sore where I was punched in the face," Cloud answered as he massaged the area where Zack had punched him. "Other than that I'm fine."

"We're glad," Tifa stated happily as she gave Cloud a hug before quickly backing away. "Cloud…" Tifa started thinking of the right words to say. "This isn't gonna be easy to say but…" Tifa sighed knowing that she had to tell Cloud. "Aerith's gone."

"Everyone's out there looking for her now," Zack added as his concern for Aerith started to show through again. "But, we decided to stay here to make sure you were ok."

"I know," Cloud replied, he shook his head and sighed to himself. "The City of the Ancients, she's headed there," Cloud informed the group as they gave him confused looks. "I know this sounds crazy," Cloud continued, "but…Aerith appeared to me in a dream and she told me where she was going."

"Aerith told you where she was going in a dream and she didn't even tell me…" Zack question feeling hurt and offended that Aerith didn't even trust him enough to tell him.

"Where is the City of the Ancients?" Tifa asked.

"I dunno," Cloud answered, "but I was in a place called the Sleeping Forest in my dream and it felt quite cold there, so I'm guessing it's North somewhere…"

"She went there…all by herself…" Barret asked as he stared at Cloud in shock, "why the hell did she go by herself?"

"Only the Ancients…only Aerith can save us from Meteor…" Cloud uttered.

"Well, we have to get out there and find her!" Tifa stated a hint of urgency in her voice. "What'll we do if something happens to Aerith? If Sephiroth finds out…she's in serious trouble…"

"Sephiroth…he already knows," Cloud answered as he gave the group a worried look. Zack paced round the room and banged his fist on one of the walls.

"I knew I should've gone with her…" Zack moaned as he banged his fist on the wall again. "And now…she's in trouble and we can't get to her in time!"

"Don't worry," Tifa reassured Zack, "if we hurry, we'll be able to find her before Sephiroth does."

Zack looked back at Tifa and nodded, "you're right," he agreed with the dark haired woman, "We've still got time."

Barret, Tifa and Zack walked to the door of the room and were about to leave when they turned round to look at Cloud. "Yo Cloud, you comin' with…" Barret asked as Cloud shook his head.

"N…no…" Cloud stammered as he grabbed hold of the sides of his head and screwed his eyes shut. "I might lose it again…" Cloud added in a frightened tone as he shook his head again. "If Sephiroth comes near me, I might…" Cloud trailed off not wanting to say what he was thinking.

"Yeah goddammit!" Barret yelled at Cloud his expression was angry. "It's 'cuz of you that Sephiroth got the Black Materia in the first place. It's your damn fault!"

Cloud released his head and opened his eyes to stare at the group, "my fault…" he repeated as he gave the group a questioning stare.

"Look Cloud, we know you've got issues right now," Zack stated sympathetically, he knew better than anyone what Cloud was going through. "I mean...everyone has problems at some point in their lives."

"He's right," Barret agreed with Zack, "you gotta understand Cloud that there ain't no getting' offa this train we're on till we reach the end of the line."

"Come on Cloud, we made it this far," Tifa tried to sound encouraging. "Aren't you even gonna settle up with Sephiroth?" She asked reminding Cloud of what he had vowed to do.

Cloud shook his head again, "n…no…" he stammered again as he grasped the sides of his head. "I'm…I'm afraid…If this keeps up I may go crazy…I'm afraid…"

"Just a damn jackass, that's what you are..." Barret snapped at Cloud hoping to knock some sense into him. "Yo, jes' think about it... How many people in this world do ya think really understand themselves? "People get depressed in life because they don't know what's up. But, they go on living. They don't run away... isn't that how it is?" Barret asked staring intently at Cloud before walking out of the room.

"Come on Cloud…you're in on this as well…" Zack stated as he stared at Cloud, "you can't back out now," Zack gave Cloud another hopeful look before he too left the room.

"Cloud…" Tifa called Cloud's name as she stared sadly at him, "you'll come with us…won't you…" Tifa asked as she grasped the door handle. "I believe in you," she said encouragingly before leaving the room.

Cloud sighed as he shook his head again, "What…am I supposed to do?" Cloud asked himself desperately as he stood up and started pacing round the room. "Pull out of here…pull out…but to where?"

Tifa, Barret and Zack were stood outside Cloud's room, Zack and Barret were leaning against the wall while Tifa was looking into the room at Cloud, "Cloud…" Tifa whispered his name, she was determined to go back in there and help him but Zack reached out and grabbed her by the arm stopping her.

"Don't, he needs more time," Zack stated as he too looked into the room and saw Cloud walking back to the bed and sitting down on it again. "This is something that he has to figure out on his own."

"You believe in Cloud…right?" Barret asked as he gave Tifa a hopeful stare before he walked out of the inn.

Zack smiled at Tifa, "Cloud will do the right thing," he stated as he too left the inn. Tifa sighed she took one last look at Cloud before leaving the inn.

Cloud was now sat at the end of the bed burying his face in his hands, "I'm afraid to find out the truth…but why?" Cloud sighed to himself before finally deciding to get up and leave the room, he walked out of the inn where he found Tifa, Barret and Zack waiting for him.

"Hey buddy, how are you feeling?" Zack asked as Cloud walked up to them.

"I'm fine," Cloud stated as he smiled weakly at the group.

"So…what's it gonna be?" Zack questioned as he, Tifa and Barret stared intently at him. "Are you gonna come with us and find out the truth for yourself…or are you too afraid? Either way, you're gonna be worryin' about it."

"Yeah," Barret agreed whole heartedly with Zack. "Even if you do go nuts again when you see Sephiroth…if it happens it happens." Barret stated matter of factly, "I'll go upside your spiky white head and bring you back to normal."

"Or I could punch you again to knock some sense into you," Zack added as Cloud raised his eyebrow at the drag human.

"Don't worry Cloud," Tifa reassured the ex SOLDIER, "we're all with you."

"But…" Cloud started to say.

"If it happens it happens ok, so quit you're worryin'!" Barret interrupted sternly not taking his eyes off Cloud.

Cloud folded his arms and lifted his head up to the sky before looking back at the group and nodding. "Yeah…you're right," Cloud agreed with Barret, "he's right…isn't he?" Cloud asked Tifa and Zack as they both nodded.

"Yeah, it's actually the smartest thing I've ever heard Barret say," Zack stated jokingly causing Barret scowl at him.

"The hell's that supposed to mean?" Barret snapped at Zack as he shook his fist at him.

"That even you can impart words of wisdom…sometimes…" Zack stated as he smirked slyly at Barret.

"I'll give you words of wisdom!" Barret yelled as he pointed his gun arm at Zack, "how about I shove my gun up your scaly ass!"

"Come on Barret I was only kidding…" Zack stated by way of apology as Barret continued to threaten him with his gun arm.

"Ehem…" Someone cleared their throat behind them, the group turned round to see Yuffie stood there with her arms folded. "When you've quite finished with your domestic," she stated as she gave them an amused look.

"Yuffie…" Cloud called out the ninja's name, happy to see her again.

"Glad to see that you're ok Cloud," Yuffie replied happily as she smiled at the blond haired man. "Cid sent me to find you guys, we can't find Aerith anywhere," Yuffie explained. "It's like she's not even on this continent anymore."

"It's ok Yuffie," Cloud reassured the ninja. "We know where Aerith is heading."

"Where?" Yuffie asked.

"A place called the Sleeping Forest," Cloud answered.

"Which is where?" Yuffie questioned.

"Up North somewhere," Cloud informed the ninja.

"Not very specific..." Yuffie uttered while rolling her eyes. "Oh...by the way while you were unconscious a woman gave me this letter to give to you." Yuffie added as she handed Cloud a letter.

"Did this woman tell you her name?" Zack asked.

"No, she just asked me if I knew Cloud, I told her I did and she told me to give you this letter...then she left," Yuffie explained.

"You didn't open it did you?" Cloud questioned as he gave Yuffie skeptical stare.

"Give me some credit..." Yuffie responded defensively as she folded her arms.

"Open it," Tifa told Cloud as Cloud opened the envelope and unfolded the letter.

"Cloud," Cloud read the letter out loud. "I know you've probably figured it out already but the Sleeping Forest is in the Northern Continent. You'll have to hurry though if you want to save your friend."

"I knew it was somewhere in the far North," Cloud stated.

"Doesn't this strike you as odd that we need to get somewhere and someone keeps sending us letters that just so happen to lead us in the right direction?" Yuffie asked as she looked at her friends.

"It is odd now that I think about it," Tifa agreed with the young ninja. "Who is the woman that's giving us all these letters?"

"Now's not the time to think about that, we have to find Aerith before Sephiroth gets to her," Zack stated quickly changing the subject.

"Right, everyone's waiting at the Tiny Bronco," Yuffie informed the group as she walked off, Cloud, Barret, Tifa and Zack followed Yuffie out of the town and they went to the beach where everyone was waiting for them on the Tiny Bronco.

"You took yer bloody time!" Cid shouted irritably as he puffed away on his cigarette, "get your asses on here!" Cloud, Tifa, Zack, Barret and Yuffie climbed aboard the Tiny Bronco. "So where we headed?" Cid asked as he stared at Cloud for directions.

"To the Northern Continent," Cloud answered urgently, "and hurry."

"Just leave it to me!" Cid boasted, "Alright listen up knuckleheads! We're gonna be goin' twice as fast as we were before, if anyone falls off the Tiny Bronco…they can make their own fuckin' way to the Northern Continent!" Everyone glared at Cid who merely laughed before pulling back on the levers causing the Tiny Bronco to reverse away from the shore. As soon as the plane was a safe distance away from the shore Cid pulled forwards on the lever and the Tiny Bronco thrust forwards well on it's way to the Northern Continent.

After a couple of hours the group landed at the Northern Continent and everyone except for Zack shivered as soon as they stepped on to land. "It sure is cold here…" Tifa remarked as the group looked around at the frost covered grass.

Zack shrugged, "it doesn't bother me," he stated boastfully as his friends glared at him.

"That's because you're a drag human!" Yuffie complained as she pointed at him, "I mean…you have your own central heating…"

"Yeah…and my insides constantly feel like they're on fire…" Zack stated as he scowled at Yuffie, "Do you really want to be feeling that all the time?"

"Errr…no…" Yuffie answered as Zack gave her a satisfied smile.

"I didn't think so," he stated, "now let's go and find Aerith before Sephiroth does." Without another word the group walked through the frost covered grass until they came to a settlement made out of large bones.

"Hmmm…what interesting structures," Red mused as he gazed interestingly at the bone structures as a man wearing a green uniform approached them.

"I see these bones interest you," he stated as the group turned round to face him. "This is Bone Village, we come here and excavate artefacts that have been buried here." The man explained as the group nodded to show that they understood.

"Did a girl named Aerith come by this way?" Zack asked, "She's about five foot three, bright green eyes, long chestnut brown hair that's tied back in a plat by a pink ribbon. She's wearing a pink dress, a short red jacket and brown boots."

The man thought about this before nodding, "now that you mention it, a girl fitting that description did come by here earlier today," he stated as the group stared hopefully at him. "She entered the Sleeping Forest, we tried to warn her that it was dangerous but…she didn't listen."

"Ok, thanks," Zack replied gratefully as the group started to walk off.

"Hey wait!" The man called after them causing the group to turn round and look at him. "I know you're in a hurry to find your friend, but there's a legend that states that the Sleeping Forest can confuse the weak minded. But, if you had a Lunar Harp you could get through no problem."

"We don't have time for this…" Zack stated desperately, "this is a matter of life and death!"

"I understand that, but I'm afraid I can't let you go any further without the Lunar Harp," the man replied matter of factly.

"Where can we find the Lunar Harp?" Cloud asked.

"It's around here somewhere," the man answered as he gestured all around him. "We just haven't gotten round to digging it up yet."

"I'll dig it up," Zack stated quickly as his claws sprang out of his fingers much to the man's surprise. "I'm a mutant," Zack answered quickly before the man could say anything. "I'm sure that harp won't be too hard to find," Zack continued as he walked slightly away from the group and towards the ladder and started digging using his claws. Zack came back up again shaking his head before moving to another area and digging there, still he found nothing. His friends and the diggers working in the settlement watched as Zack scaled a wall and placed his face close to the wall and tapped with fist before digging.

After several hours of digging up the place Zack tried one place that he hadn't tried, the large tent just outside the Sleeping Forest. Zack dug again and an almighty clang was heard as Zack's claws connected with something metal, his friends and the man climbed up the ladder and ran up to the fresh hole that Zack had dug just as the drag human resurfaced holding something.

The man examined the dirt covered object and smiled, "you found it…" he uttered both surprised and impressed. "You've found the Lunar Harp!"

"Told you it was no biggie…" Zack stated as he grinned smugly, "I guess that means we can go through now."

"Well you have the harp," the man said as he nodded. "If you play the right tune on the harp the forest should awaken."

"Thanks for the advice," Cloud thanked the man as the group entered the Sleeping Forest, as soon as they entered Cloud looked around and saw that the scenery looked familiar to him. "This is the forest from my dreams," he informed the group. The harp suddenly floated out of Zack's hands and it began to play a soothing tune by itself.

"Don't tell me I'm not the only one seein' this…" Cid uttered his jaw almost hanging on the floor as he stared at the harp in shock.

"You're not seeing things Cid," Vincent remarked reassuringly as everyone stared at the harp which had now glowed a pale green colour along with the forest, when the tune stopped the forest and the harp started glowing and the trees parted to reveal a passageway. Everyone looked at each other and shrugged before they walked down the path that opened to them. They eventually came to an area with strange looking plants.

"Hmmm…interesting flora," Red pointed out as he sniffed one of them. "It looks almost like coral."

"This place is giving me the creeps…" Yuffie stated as she shivered, the group all muttered in agreement and carried on walking until they were at the top of large hill and they could see an area below them where the buildings were made out of large funny shaped shells.

"This place just gets weirder and weirder…" Barret commented as the group the group walked down the hill and entered the shell city below.

"Hmmm…" Zack mused as he looked around him and sniffed the air, "this place smells old…and it has that ancient feel about it…but…it seems…untouched by time…" Zack remarked as he looked at the others with a confused expression on his face. "How's that even possible?"

"The Cetra were said to have performed what humans would perceive to be miracles," Cait Sith theorised as Zack stared at the cat in shock.

"You think so…" He asked with keen interest.

"Aerith always did have a magical quality about her, right?" Cait Sith questioned as Zack nodded. The group headed to the right on the foot path and they entered one of the shell houses and were amazed to find beds in it.

"Those beds sure do look comfortable," Yuffie stated happily as she walked over to one of the beds and sat down on it. "It's soft too…"

"And there's more than enough beds for all of us," Cid observed as he too walked over to one of the beds and sat down on it taking his boots off. "My feet are killin' me…" Cid complained as he rubbed his feet. "How's about we get some shuteye…"

"I don't think I can sleep," Zack stated sadly.

"Me neither," Cloud added.

"I know it'll be hard, but we've all been travelling for a long while," Tifa replied sympathetically, she like everyone else was worried about Aerith. "I think it would best if we got some sleep."

Cloud smiled at Tifa, "yeah…you're right," he agreed with the dark haired woman. "We should get some rest." The remainder of the group chose their beds and one by one they drifted off to sleep.

A couple of hours later Zack woke up suddenly, he sat up and looked out of the window next to his bed and was shocked to see that it was dark out. "It's night…" Zack whispered to himself being careful not to wake anyone else up. Zack was about to go back to sleep when he heard a creaking sound, "what was that?" Zack asked as he leapt out of bed, his claws sprang out as his body tensed up and the spear at the end of his tail opened up as Zack crept across the room looking for the source of the noise when he bumped into a shadowy figure. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Zack yelled in a panicked tone as he leapt back and hissed menacingly at the figure.

"Zack…keep it down…do you want to wake everyone else up?" The stranger asked trying to keep Zack quiet, he stepped into a pool of light from the moon outside to reveal a man with spiky blond hair and glowing blue eyes.

"Cloud…" Zack heaved a huge sigh of relief as he calmed down his claws retracted back into his fingers and the spear at the end of his tail closed.

"I couldn't sleep…I can feel it…" Cloud stated dreamily, Zack was about to respond when the two men heard moans and murmurs as their friends began to stir and leapt out of their beds brandishing their weapons wondering what all the racket was.

"It's only Cloud and Zack," Cid informed the group as their lowered their weapons, Cid glared at the two. "Do you have any idea of what fuckin' time it is?" Cid demanded.

"Aerith's here…" Cloud responded.

"And so's Sephiroth…" Zack added.

"You sense it too, don't you?" Cloud asked as Zack nodded.

"Yeah," the drag human answered, "we gotta find Aerith, and fast." The group left the shell house and walked back up the path until they came to the cross road at the entrance to the shell city. Zack and Cloud could hear soft whispers coming from the centre path, Zack closed his eyes and listened as the whispers comforted him and soothed him. "That voice…" he whispered as he opened his eyes again and faced the centre path. "Aerith…"

"She's there…" Cloud stated as he too turned towards the left path, Zack nodded and he started to walk down the centre path. Cloud wasn't too far behind him and the others followed, the group walked through a small forest until they came across a large shell shaped house near a lake. They entered the shell house and at the back of the room they noticed a flight of crystalline steps leading downwards.

"I wonder where those steps lead…" Tifa mused as Cloud stepped on to the first step and slowly made his way down, Zack followed him and one by one the group walked down the steps. The stairs were long and winding but the group climbed down the last step and found themselves in a large crystalline city. "It's so beautiful…" Tifa commented as she looked round at the buildings and the large lake.

"Aerith!" Zack called out the Cetra's name as he started to search for her, "Where are you?" The group heard more whispers and they walked to the edge of the lake where they found five pillars leading to a shrine at the centre of the lake and they saw Aerith kneeling down in the centre of it. Her eyes were closed and her hands were clasped together as though she was praying.

"Aerith…" Zack and Cloud called out the Cetra's name in unison white light flashed passed them and both the ex SOLDIER and the drag human collapsed to their knees much to the shock of their friends. Zack and Cloud staggered to their feet both their eyes were milky white and missing pupils and irises.

"Cloud…Zack…" Tifa called out their names, "please…not now…"

Cloud and Zack took a couple of steps before Zack moaned and grabbed hold of his head collapsing to his knees once again, he screwed his eyes shut and his body shook as he fought against the hold Sephiroth was starting to have on him. Zack's eyes fluttered open and they were their normal yellow colour, "huh…" Zack uttered as he looked around him, "what was that?" He questioned as he staggered to his feet confused at what had happened.

"You blanked out on us," Barret told Zack.

"Me and Cloud saw this flash of light and we started acting weird," Zack explained as best he could, then it dawned on him, "Sephiroth…he's here…but where?" The group turned their attention to Cloud who still had the milky white eyes, he didn't seem to notice them and he walked towards the edge of the lake. "Cloud…" Zack called out the blond haired man's name as he jumped on to the first pillar, Zack and Tifa tried to follow Cloud but he held out his hand to stop them.

"Cloud…" Tifa called out the ex SOLDIER's name, a hint of worry in her voice as she watched Cloud jump from pillar to pillar. "Where is he going?" Zack shrugged his shoulders, he too was worried but he didn't want to rush into anything.

The group watched as Cloud leapt on to the altar and looked down at Aerith who was still deep in prayer. Cloud turned away from the Cetra and slowly removed his sword from his back much to everyone's horror. "Cloud!" Zack yelled at the top of his lungs trying to get the ex SOLDIER's attention, but Cloud wasn't listening. He turned round to face Aerith again and grinned evilly as he slowly walked towards her raising his sword above his head he was a few inches away from Aerith now and he brought his sword down. "CLOUD! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!" Zack's voice echoed through out the entire city.

"STOP!" Tifa added she too was yelling at Cloud.

Cloud's sword stopped just above Aerith's head, "huh…" Cloud uttered as he shook his head and closed his eyes, when he opened them again his eyes had returned to normal. Cloud brought his sword back and placed it on his back before taking a step back and looking down at his hands. "Ugh…what are you making me do?" Cloud yelled shocked at what he was about to do, as though woken by the noise Aerith stopped praying. She opened her eyes and looked up to smile at Cloud, Cloud smiled back, glad that Aerith was ok. For a while no one moved but Zack and Cloud sensed a presence in the city, everyone looked up to see a dark figure fall down from above holding a long sword out below them, it only took everyone a few seconds to figure out that it was Sephiroth.

"Shit!" Zack cursed as he finally managed to find the energy to remove, "she's gonna be killed!" Time seemed to slow down all around Zack as he leapt from pillar to pillar, he could hear his heart beating loudly against his chest as he raced against Sephiroth who was still falling towards Aerith. Zack finally made it to the altar and he saw that Sephiroth was just inches away from Aerith now, "AE-RITH!" Zack shouted as he ran towards Aerith his heart still beating loudly, he reached both his arms out as he ran and grabbed Aerith pulling her to safety as Sephiroth's sword stabbed into the ground just catching Aerith's ribbon and snapping it causing Aerith's plat to come loose. Everyone watched in shock as a small glowing green orb fell from the damaged ribbon and bounced off the altar and bounced from pillar to pillar until it fell into the lake below.

"My materia!" Aerith yelled, finally finding her voice as she crawled to the edge of the altar frantically trying to find it.

"Aerith!" Zack called out to her as he grabbed hold of her shoulders, "you were almost killed and all you can worry about is a piece of materia…"

"You don't understand…" Aerith responded in a panicked tone, "that materia, it was our only hope…and now it's gone!"

Zack helped Aerith to her feet and he and Cloud glared at Sephiroth as the silver haired man staggered to his feet and pulled his sword effortlessly out of the ground. "So you managed to save the girl…this time," Sephiroth stated calmly as he turned round and smiled at Cloud, Zack and Aerith.

Zack gently pushed Aerith behind him as he stepped up to Cloud, not taking his eyes off Sephiroth. "There won't be a next time Sephiroth!" Zack yelled determinedly as Aerith walked up close behind him. "Cos while I'm around, Aerith will be safe!"

Sephiroth grinned again as he sheathed his sword, "is that so?" he questioned as Cloud and Zack continued to glare at him. "Not that it matters to me, you'll all meet your end soon enough. I'll be heading North, the Promised Land awaits me passed the snowy fields," Sephiroth explained as he raised his arms. "There I'll become a new being by uniting with the Planet."

"JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP SEPHIROTH!" Cloud suddenly snapped as he continued to glare at Sephiroth, his body was pulsing with anger. "YOU JUST DON'T GET IT DO YOU? YOU MANIPULATED ME! YOU FORCED ME TO GIVE YOU THE BLACK MATERIA! YOU TRIED TO MAKE ME KILL AERITH!" Cloud screamed at the silver haired man, "YOU HAVE NO IDEA OF THE PAIN WE COULD'VE GONE THROUGH! THE SADNESS WE WOULD'VE FELT AT THE LOSS OF A CLOSE FRIEND! YOU JUST DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYONE'S FEELINGS AT ALL!"

Sephiroth lowered his arms as he stared at Cloud, "What are you saying?" He demanded, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Are you telling me that you actually have feelings?"

Cloud staggered back as he reached for his sword again still glaring angrily at the man who had caused him so much misery. "Of course!" He yelled at the man, "who do you think I am?" Cloud demanded as he and Zack got into fighting stances, Sephiroth merely laughed.

"Because…Cloud…you are…" Sephiroth started to say as he floated up into the air and threw a green pulsating ball at the group before disappearing. Cloud, Zack and Aerith shielded their eyes as the ball hit the altar next to them and completely blinded them with a bright light before it twisted and changed its shape and JENOVA was towering above them.

"Aerith, stand back," Zack warned as he pushed Aerith further behind him. "Me and Cloud will take care of JENOVA." Aerith nodded as Zack and Cloud got into fighting stances, Cloud and Zack dodged out of the way as JENOVA fired a blue coloured beam at them from its neck. Cloud held his sword up above his head and energy built up inside it before Cloud slammed his sword down and released a huge wave of energy that struck JENOVA wounding it and knocking it back. While JENOVA was stunned Zack stomped the ground with his feet creating seismic waves in the ground further shocking the monster. Zack and Cloud nodded at each other and they both charged at JENOVA, however by the time Cloud and Zack had reached her she had already come round and a jet of blue flames shot of JENOVA at Cloud and Zack. Zack and Cloud dodged out of the way, Zack breathed ice at JENOVA freezing it. Zack and Cloud then hacked away at JENOVA while it was still frozen, Cloud leapt up into the air and performed a Braver attack on JENOVA as Zack also leapt into the air and spun his body round creating fire in his hands that spun round him like a tornado as the fire struck JENOVA thawing it as well as dealing major damage to it.

Cloud and Zack watched as JENOVA's body glowed with a bright blue aura, the ex SOLDIER and the drag human braced themselves as JENOVA used her Aqua Lung attack on them. Large bubbles and a wave of water crashed out at Cloud and Zack but when the water cleared it revealed a drenched Cloud and Zack but because they braced themselves before hand the attack didn't cause that much damage to them. Fortunately for Zack and Cloud JENOVA needed time to recharge after its attack, Zack and Cloud ran up at JENOVA Cloud stabbed his sword into the monster as Zack stabbed the spear end of his tail into it and the two of them leapt upwards (well Zack really climbed up JENOVA) dragging their sword and tail (in Zack's case) up JENOVA's body all the way up to its neck before leaping down and landing on the ground, they turned round just in time to see JENOVA fall to the ground and dissolve.

Zack ran up to Aerith, "are you ok?" The drag human asked as Aerith wrapped her arms tightly round Zack's neck.

Aerith smiled, "I am now," Aerith whispered in Zack's ear before kissing him on the lips.

Zack smiled back, "good," he replied when Aerith stopped kissing him. "What were you thinking?"

"I know," Aerith stated sadly as she released Zack and turned away from him. "I thought I could handle it on my own…saving the world…it was my burden to bear…"

"No…it's not," Zack disagreed with Aerith as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "You were almost killed by Sephiroth, fortunately, we managed to get to you in time."

"Thanks for saving me," Aerith replied gratefully as she turned round and smiled at Zack.

"Hey…what kind of a boyfriend would I be if I didn't protect you," Zack stated as Aerith stared at him for a second.

"You just said that you were my boyfriend," Aerith remarked.

"Oh…sorry," Zack apologised.

"No," Aerith said quickly as she smiled at him. "I liked it." Zack smiled back and he kissed her on the lips.

"Come on, let's get of here," Zack suggested as he took hold of Aerith's hand and the two along with Cloud leapt off the altar and returned to the group. Without a word everyone ascended the crystal staircase and left the City of the Ancients, they travelled down the right path and they entered one of the shell structures.

Cloud faced away from the group still feeling guilty at almost killing Aerith, "everyone, listen to me," Cloud spoke getting everyone's attention as he turned round to face the group. "I'm Cloud, ex SOLDIER born in Nibelheim, I came to settle up with Sephiroth."

"So what the fuck is goin' on?" Cid demanded confused by the whole thing.

"Yeah, you went nuts on us again," Barret added.

Cloud sighed, "I came here of my own free will…or so I thought." Cloud stated, he too was confused by his strange behaviour.

"Wait…Sephiroth tried to control me too, right?" Zack asked as he looked round the room at everyone.

"Yeah, but you managed to fight it off," Tifa told him she then looked over at Cloud with a confused expression on her face. "So, why couldn't Cloud?"

"That's what I want to know," Cloud stated as he shook his head. "To be honest…I'm afraid of myself," Cloud admitted as he turned away from the group again. "There's a part of me that I don't understand…a part of me that gave the Black Materia to Sephiroth…" Cloud began to explain as he cringed dreading that thought. "If you guys hadn't have stopped me when you did…I could've killed Aerith…and…if Zack hadn't have intervened when he did…Aerith would be dead now." Cloud continued as Zack bowed his head modestly, "there's something inside of me…something that's not really me…" Cloud turned round to face his friends, he shook his head. "That's why I should quit this journey," Cloud told his shocked friends as he raised his fist his body was visibly shaking. "Before I do something terrible."

"Cloud…you can't quit," Aerith spoke up breaking the awkward silence after Cloud's revelation. "Not now…I don't blame you for what happened, we all know that you weren't yourself."

Cloud nodded, "I know," he replied, "which is why I am going. Sephiroth destroyed my hometown five years ago, he almost killed you Aerith. And now…" Cloud took a deep breath before continuing, "Now, he's trying to destroy the Planet, I'll never forgive Sephiroth…" Cloud stopped shaking as he lowered his head, but he didn't lower his fist. "I…I must go on," Cloud stated in a determined voice as he lowered his fist, "I have a favour to ask of you. Will you all come with me?" Cloud requested as he looked up at his friends again. "To save me from doing something terrible."

The group nodded, "of course we will," Tifa stated as she walked over to Cloud and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah," Zack agreed, "someone has to stop you from doing something stupid."

Cloud nodded his head and smiled weakly at his friends, "thanks guys," he replied gratefully before turning to face Aerith. "And Aerith…I'm sorry."

"I already told you it's ok," Aerith brushed Cloud's apology aside. "It was stupid of me to go off on my own like that, I thought I could save the World from Meteor…but my only means of doing so is gone."

"It's not too late," Cloud stated as he walked towards the door of the shell house. "We still have time, we just need to get the Black Materia back from Sephiroth before he uses it." Cloud looked back at his friends, "let's go," he commanded before walking out of the shell building.

One by one the group left the building, Zack was about to leave when Aerith reached out and grabbed hold of his arm. "Zack…"Aerith called out the drag human's name as he turned round to face her. "Thanks again, for saving me."

"Hey…you don't have to thank me," Zack replied as he brought his hand up and stroked the side of Aerith's face. "The point is…you're safe now, just promise me you won't go wandering off on your own again."

"Don't worry, I've learned my lesson," Aerith promised as she wrapped her arms round Zack's waist she looked up at him and smiled before sighing.

"What's wrong?" Zack asked as Aerith removed her arms from Zack's waist and turned away. "You're not still worried about that materia you lost are you?" Zack wrapped his arms gently round Aerith's neck.

Aerith smiled as she brought her hands up to her neck and placed them on top of Zack's hands. "It's funny," she answered as Zack stared at her intrigued. "I don't fully know what that materia does…but, I knew how to use it back at the altar. Not only that, it was a valuable family heirloom…"

"Hey come on, we'll get it back." Zack reassured Aerith as he stroked the side of her face again. "Our main priority right now is getting the Black Materia from Sephiroth."

Aerith nodded, "you're right," she agreed as she turned back round to face Zack again. "But…that ribbon, that you bought me years ago is ruined," Aerith added sadly as she looked down at the two halves of the pink ribbon in her hands. "And it meant so much to me too."

"I'll get you another one," Zack stated. "It wasn't that expensive, besides…I think you should keep your hair down like that for a while."

"You think so…" Aerith asked as Zack nodded.

"Definitely," Zack answered as he kissed Aerith on the lips. "I think it suits you."

Aerith laughed as she cocked her head at Zack with that same flirtatious look she always used to give him. "Come on, we should join the others." Aerith changed the subject as she grabbed hold of Zack's hand and the two walked out of the shell house to meet up with the others. They arrived just in time to see Sephiroth further up the path walking through a small wood before disappearing.

"I wonder where Sephiroth is going…" Aerith mused as a high pitched noised pierced through Cloud's ears causing him to collapse to the floor in pain holding his ears.

"Ugh…" Cloud moaned as his friends stared at him.

"Are you ok?" Tifa asked her voice was filled with concern as she knelt down next to Cloud, the blond haired man shook his head before Tifa helped him to his feet.

"Hmmm…Sephiroth told me to head North…passed the snowy fields…" Cloud answered not looking at the group, Zack walked up to Cloud and stood next to him looking in the same direction.

"Wherever Sephiroth goes, we go too…right?" Zack questioned as he turned his head round to look at Cloud.

"Yeah," Cloud answered as he turned round to look at Zack. "You've still got my back right?"

Zack grinned, "I've always got your back," he replied as everyone else walked up to the two. "We all have."

Cloud smiled back, "thanks guys," he replied gratefully as he turned back round to look in the direction that Sephiroth had walked in. He stood there staring at the area before sighing to himself before looking back at the others. "Let's go," Cloud ordered as the group headed North Zack wrapped his arm round Aerith as they walked, relieved that she was still with them. The group continued with a new goal in mind, getting the Black Materia back before Sephiroth had a chance to summon Meteor and destroy the world.

* * *

**Finally, chapter 12 is complete. Sorry it took so long but I was busy with uni work, this has to be the longest chapter I have ever written so far and I apologise for that as well. I know I've had Aerith survive in my story and I don't want anyone thinking that I'm a disillusioned fan that wished that Aerith didn't die because I'm not. This is an AU fic and if people had no problems with Zack surviving in my version of events then they shouldn't have a problem with Aerith surviving in my version of events. Besides, I think that if Zack did actually survive in the game that he actually would directly intervene to save Aerith's life. Besides I've seen so many Aerith revival fanfics, so please don't flame me for this. Chapter 13 will be written as soon as I can find the time to write it, like I said I am very busy with uni at the moment. Just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of it's characters and content, they belong to Square Enix.**


	13. Cloud's Past and the Calamity

**Chapter 13: Cloud's Past and the Calamity**

The group walked up the trail following the direction Sephiroth had walked in, when they turned the corner they found a strange shell standing up right leaning against a nearby wall. The group stopped in front of the shell and stared at it with great interest. "That's the strangest fuckin' thing I've ever seen!" Cid's voice echoed through the entire area. "Besides…this is a dead end…how the hell are we supposed to get outta here?" Cid demanded.

"Hmmm…" Zack mused as he scanned his surroundings, one of things he learned during his time in SOLDIER was to examine the surrounding area for entrance and exit paths and shortcuts as well as hidden enemies. It was an ability that Zack had often used to his advantage and now he just used it as a force of habit more than anything. Zack looked over to the wall and looked up to see a cave, "there's a cave up there," Zack informed the group as he pointed to the cave's entrance.

"That still doesn't answer my damn question!" Cid snapped as he glared at Zack.

"It looks like we can use the shell to get up there," Zack stated ignoring Cid's outburst. Before anyone could say anything Zack's claws sprang out and he leapt on to the shell and started to climb up it and it didn't take him long to reach the cave. One by one his friends followed and they walked into the cave, Zack took hold of Aerith's arm and gently pulled her close to him. "Stay close to me Aerith," he warned as the group started to walk through the cave. "We don't know what sort of creatures live in this cave." Fortunately the cave wasn't very deep and there were very few creatures living within it and the group could find their way through the cave without too much trouble.

A few minutes later the group left the cave and found themselves in an area completely covered in snow. "Snow!" Aerith exclaimed excitedly as she looked at the endless white around her.

Zack laughed when he saw Aerith's child like excitement. "Jeez Aerith…anyone would think that you've never seen snow before…" Zack stated as he gave Aerith an amused smile.

Aerith turned round to look at Zack, "I've been living in Midgar all my life," Aerith replied as she stuck her tongue out at the drag human. "It rarely snows in Midgar."

"Good point…" Zack agreed before wincing as a snowball landed in his face. Zack shook himself and the snow fell off him, Zack looked ahead of him to see Aerith stooped down scooping more snow into her hands and moulding it into a ball.

"Gotcha!" Aerith yelled playfully as she quickly stood up and threw the second snowball at Zack. The drag human however was ready for it this time and he quickly ducked as the snowball flew over his head and landed on the mountain wall behind him.

"Ha!" Zack yelled victoriously as he pointed at Aerith, "you missed…ouch!" Zack yelled in pain as another snowball hit him in the face. Aerith giggled when she saw this, Zack reached his hand up and brushed the snow off his face. "So it's a fight you want huh…" Zack asked playfully as he stooped down and quickly scooped up some snow in his hands and formed it into a ball shape. "You got it missy!" Zack shouted as he launched the snowball at Aerith, Aerith screamed as she dodged the snowball before scooping up more snow. The two continued their snowball fight as their friends looked on with bewildered expressions.

"Will you two just hurry it up?" Cid demanded irritably as Zack and Aerith stopped their snowball fight and stared at the pilot. "I'm freezin' my fuckin' ass here!" Aerith and Zack looked at each other before looking back at Cid and nodding, "good," Cid stated as he gave the two a satisfied smile and the group was on its way again.

As they walked up the snowy hill Cid started to become irritable again, "I need a smoke…" Cid grumbled as he reached into his pocket for his pack of cigarettes and took one out of the pack. He then fumbled round his other pockets looking for his cigarette lighter. "Shit!" Cid cursed out loud causing everyone to stop and stare at him.

"I can't find my lighter! How am I supposed to have a smoke when I can't even light the damn cigarette!" Cid continued to rant, "hey Zack!" Cid called out to the drag human as his gaze hit him. "Make yerself useful and light my cigarette!" Cid demanded as he thrust the cigarette into Zack's face.

Zack sighed exasperatedly as he looked at the cigarette that was inches from his face. "I get used as a lock pick…"

"A very crude lock pick…" Yuffie cut in causing Zack to scowl at her.

"An oven every morning…" Zack continued choosing to ignore Yuffie's remark and glaring at Tifa.

"Eh he…" Tifa laughed nervously.

"An ice dispenser...and now a cigarette lighter!" Zack yelled as he glared from one person to another, "is there anything else you want to use me for?"

"Errr…a human chamele...whoa!" Yuffie yelled as a fireball just narrowly missed her face, she saw Zack stood opposite her with one of his hands still out in front of him yet to move back to its normal position.

Aerith scowled at Zack, "Zack…" she called out the drag human's name.

"What?" Zack asked as he turned round to look at Aerith, he ruffled his hair trying to make himself look innocent.

Aerith shook her head, "never mind…" she replied as she shivered. "Let's just get going, I'm feeling a little cold."

The group nodded and they continued to climb up the hill, "I still don't understand where my lighter went…" Cid grumbled to himself. "I'm pretty sure I had it," Cid continued to talk to himself unaware that Aerith was grinning, however Zack, Tifa and Cloud saw it.

"What are you grinning for?" The dark haired woman asked her friend, Aerith said nothing but she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out Cid's cigarette lighter. "You didn't…" Tifa whispered with a grin as Aerith nodded.

"I did…" The Cetra answered with a slight giggle.

"Aerith you sly…" Zack started he too was grinning at Aerith.

"I never knew you could be so devious," Cloud added.

"Well, I'm doing it for Cid's own good," Aerith answered, "I don't like him smoking those death sticks and if hiding his lighter will stop him then so be it."

The four laughed but quickly stopped as Cid started to catch up to them, "Cid's coming," Tifa warned and Aerith quickly hid the lighter back in her pocket as the pilot finally caught up to them.

"What are you four so happy about?" Cid demanded as he gave them suspicious stares, "it's fuckin' freezin' out here."

"Oh nothing…" Aerith answered vaguely as Zack, Cloud and Tifa nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's nothing," Aerith repeated as she stared innocently at Cid, the pilot continued to stare at Aerith for a moment before sighing.

"Hey look!" Tifa yelled quickly changing the subject. "There's a village over there!" Tifa pointed to the top of the hill to a small village.

"Finally!" Yuffie shouted triumphantly as she stomped passed the others, "somewhere warm…" Her friends laughed causing the ninja to scowl at them. "Hey!" She yelled angrily at her friends, "I thought we were doomed to wander through the cold wilderness forever!"

Everyone continued to laugh at Yuffie as they walked into the village, "wow!" Aerith exclaimed, "This place is so quaint, a true Winter village." She looked around the village before turning back to Zack, "hey, maybe when all this is over we can come here for a skiing holiday," she suggested cheerfully.

"I'd rather be sat in the lodge next to a roaring fireplace reading Materia Weekly magazines," Yuffie muttered miserably as she breathed into her hands in an effort to keep warm. "Speaking of which, I'm gonna enter the first building I see." Before anyone could say anything Yuffie had already ran off and entered the first building she saw.

"Actually, that's the best idea I've heard all day," Cid stated as he started to walk off in the direction Yuffie ran off in. "Smell you guys later!" Cid called to the group before walking towards the inn.

"Hey wait for me!" Barret yelled after the pilot, "Don't leave me here to fuckin' freeze to death!" Barret ran after Cid as Cloud, Tifa, Zack, Aerith, Red, Vincent and Cait Sith just stood there staring at the man.

"I think it would be a good idea to make like the others and explore the village," Red suggested. "Besides I need to go somewhere to get all this snow out of my paws."

"Alright, we may as well go our own separate ways," Cloud stated agreeing with Red. "I'll meet you guys here, Red, can you find Yuffie, Barret and Cid and tell them where we're meeting?" Cloud asked as the beast nodded. "See you guys in a couple of hours." Cloud and Tifa went off in one direction, while Red and Cait Sith walked towards the inn. Vincent leapt on to the roof of the building nearest to him and Zack and Aerith walked off in another direction.

Cloud and Tifa entered one of the buildings and saw swords, daggers, guns and whole manner of weapons on the walls. "Wow…just look at all these weapons…" Tifa uttered with amazement as she and Cloud looked round at them, they walked passed the swords and stopped near the gauntlets. "I could do with a new pair of gauntlets," Tifa stated as she took a pair from off the shelf. These gauntlets were a bronze colour and they had sharp claws sticking out of the knuckles.

"Be careful not to poke someone's eyes out with those things…" Cloud said half jokingly and have seriously as Tifa stuck her tongue out at him. "Alright…" Cloud added in a more serious tone, "we'll get the gauntlets and I'm sure the others will want new weapons too." Cloud stated as the two walked round the shop to pick up a new sword for Cloud, a new spear for Cid, a new gun for Vincent and a staff for Aerith.

The two then walked over to the counter where an old man sat on a rocking chair fast asleep and a young girl was stood next to him. The girl leapt up and down when she Cloud and Tifa coming, "come on grandpa wake up!" The young girl yelled to her granddad as she shook him, "We have customers!"

"Huh…what…" The old man stammered as he woke with a start and looked around him until he saw Cloud and Tifa stood there holding the weapons. "Oh…welcome…" the old man stated in a customer friendly manner as he smiled at Cloud and Tifa. "Glad you came, what can I do for you?"

"We wanted to buy these," Cloud answered as he and Tifa put the weapons on the counter and the old man slowly stood up to look at them.

"You want a pair of gauntlets, a sword, a gun, a spear and a staff…" The old man listed the items off as he looked at them one by one. "That will be 350gil altogether." Cloud took his wallet out of his pocket and paid the man the money before he and Tifa picked up the new weapons. "Thank you," the old man stated as Cloud and Tifa left the shop.

Meanwhile, Zack and Aerith were walking round the village watching the children as they had sledding contests down the hill and having snowball fights. Eventually Zack and Aerith came across a house right in the middle of the village. "Hmmm…this is a strange place to have a house…" Aerith pondered as she and Zack walked up to the door.

"Yeah…" Zack agreed as he leant on the door, however he put too much weight on to the door and it suddenly swung open. "Whoa!" Zack yelled in surprise as he fell through and landed on the floor.

"Zack are you alright?" Aerith asked as she ran up and knelt down beside Zack.

"I'm fine," Zack replied as he pulled himself to his feet. "The idiot who lives here left their door unlocked, what jackass would leave their door unlocked?" Zack asked Aerith, but Aerith wasn't listening, she had stepped further into the room and looked around the room.

It was a fairly large, rectangular room with a red dust covered rug right in the centre and a whole manner of scientific equipment all buzzing whirring. "Aerith…" Zack called out to the Cetra as he closed the door behind him and walked further into the room.

"Zack…" Aerith answered as she turned round to look at the drag human as he walked up behind her. "Just look at all this stuff…" she stated as she pointed all around the room at the equipment.

"All this stuff looks like it belongs in a lab," Zack pointed out as he looked at the equipment. "Not a small village in the middle of nowhere."

"Yeah…it does seem a little out of place here." Aerith agreed as she continued to explore the room until she came across a strange looking computer. "Zack…" Aerith called out to the drag human, "come look at this!"

"What is it?" Zack asked as he walked up to Aerith and stopped to look at the computer.

"Strange looking computer isn't it?" Aerith asked as she swept a finger across the screen and when she pulled her finger away it was covered in dust. "And dusty too…" Aerith complained as she brushed the dust off her finger. "I wonder how long it's been here for…"

"Who knows…" Zack answered with a shrug, "I wonder if it still works…" He mused, Aerith pushed a button on the computer and it whirred and hummed as it booted up. Zack meanwhile stepped away from the computer and he found a shelf filled with videos. "Whoever lived here had quite a video collection," Zack remarked as he pulled the first video off the shelf and looked at it. "The Original Crisis…" Zack read the label on the video, "I wonder what that's about…"

"Let's watch it and find out," Aerith suggested as Zack walked back over to the computer and placed the video into a video player that was attached to the computer. Zack and Aerith stood back and waited as the screen went blank for a second before an image flashed on it.

* * *

_The image on the computer showed the same room that Zack and Aerith were in only the room wasn't so dust covered and the equipment was in use. The image went funny as someone was adjusting a video camera, a woman with long brown hair wearing a red dress and purple high heeled shoes stood in the middle of the room and waited patiently for the other person to finish their adjustments. "Camera's ready! A voice shouted enthusiastically as a man wearing a white lab coat stepped out from behind the camera and walked over to the woman. "Then Ifalna, tell us about the Cetra," the man requested as he stepped slightly away from the woman and turned all his attention on her._

_"Well…" The woman called Ifalna started as she placed a finger on her lips trying to think of the best way to explain it. "2000 years ago, our ancestors, the Cetra, heard the cries of the Planet. The first ones to discover the Planet's wounds were the Cetra at the North Pole."_

_"Tell us Ifalna, where is the land called North Pole?" The man in the lab coat asked politely his attention was still on the woman._

_"The North Pole refers to this area," Ifalna answered as she gestured all around her with her arms. "The Cetra then began a Planet reading."_

_"Ifalna, what does a Planet reading entail?" The man continued to question in a polite manner."…I can't explain it very well," Ifalna replied as she gave the man a nervous look but he gave her a reassuring smile so she took a deep breath and continued. "But it's like having a conversation with the Planet…" Ifalna explained. "It said something fell from the sky making a large wound. Thousands of Cetra pulled together, trying to heal the Planet…But, due to the severity of the wound, it was only able to heal itself, over many years." Ifalna stated sadly with a sigh._

_"Do the Ancients rather the Cetra, have special powers to heal the Planet?" The man asked curiously._

_"No, it's not that kind of power," Ifalna replied as she shook her head. "The life force of all living things on this Planet becomes the energy. The Cetra tried desperately to cultivate the land so as not to diminish the needed energy..."_

_"Hmmm…" The man mused as he stroked his chin, "even here so close to the Northern Cave, the snow never melts. Is that because the Planet's energy is gathered here to heal its injury?" He asked as Ifalna bowed her head._

_"Yes," Ifalna answered, "the energy that was needed to heal the Planet had withered away the land…then the Planet…" Ifalna stopped for a moment to compose herself, "the Planet tried to persuade the Cetra to leave the North Pole but…" Ifalna stopped as it all got too much for her, the man noticed this._

_"Ifalna why don't we take a break…" He suggested kindly but Ifalna shook her head._

_"I'm alright…" Ifalna stated unconvincingly before continuing with her explanation. "When the Cetra were preparing to leave the land they loved…" Ifalna stopped again as she turned away from the man. "That's when it appeared!" Ifalna yelled, "it looked like... our... our dead mothers... and our dead brothers. Showing us spectres of their past."_

_"Who is the person that appeared at the North Cave?" The man asked, "I haven't any idea."_

_"That's when the one who injured the Planet... or the 'crisis from the sky', as we call it, came." Ifalna explained as she hid her face in her hands. "It first approached as a friend, deceived them, and finally... gave them the virus." Ifalna sobbed into her hands before looking up again to show her tearstained face. "The Cetra were attacked by the virus and went mad... transforming into monsters." Ifalna continued as she fell to the floor and the man ran up to her. "Then, just as it had at the North Pole, it approached other Cetra clans... infecting them with... the virus..." Ifalna sobbed again as the man patted her on the back to comfort her._

_"You don't look well," the man stated sympathetically as he looked down at Ifalna. "Let's call it a day," he suggested, Ifalna nodded and the man walked over to the camera and pressed a button causing the scene to fade._

* * *

Zack and Aerith stared at the computer screen as the scene on the video faded and the screen was blank again. "Wow…" Aerith uttered in surprise, "Do you suppose the Original Crisis was…" Aerith started to ask.

"JENOVA…" Zack finished Aerith's question, "yeah I do," Zack pushed the eject button on the video player and he grabbed the video as it came out of the machine and put it back in the case. The drag human then walked back over to the shelf and put the video back in the exact place he had found it before reaching for the second video. "What is Weapon?" Zack read the label as he brought the video back to Aerith.

"Hmmm…" Aerith mused as she looked at the label on the video. "There's only one way to find out, put it in." Zack nodded and he put the second video into the video player, the two watched as the started to come into focus.

* * *

_It was a whole day since the previous recording session and the man in the white lab coat was once again making adjustments to the camera. Ifalna was sat in a chair at the corner, the man pointed the camera at Ifalna before walking towards her. "Ifalna, can you comment on the thing called Weapon?" The man asked in his usual manner._

_Ifalna nodded, "yes professor," she answered as she stood up and walked over to the man. The one the professor mistook for a Cetra... was named Jenova. That is the 'crisis from the sky'," Ifalna explained. "The Planet knew it had to destroy the 'crisis from the sky'...You see, as long as Jenova exists, the Planet will never be able to fully heal itself."_

_"Back then, Weapon was a weapon the Planet created of its freewill?" The professor asked a little confused._

_"Yes…" Ifalna answered as she nodded her head, "but there is no record of Weapon ever being used." Ifalna continued to explain, "a small number of the surviving Cetra defeated JENOVA and confined it. The Planet produced Weapon…but it was no longer necessary to use it."_

_The professor shrugged as he listened to Ifalna, "so, Weapon no longer exists?" He asked._

_"Weapon just can't vanish," Ifalna answered as she shook her head. "It remains asleep somewhere on the Planet, even though JENOVA is confined it can still come back to life. The Planet hasn't fully healed, it is still watching JENOVA." Ifalna continued to explain, a hint of worry in her voice. _

_"Where is Weapon?" The professor questioned._

_"I don't know…" Ifalna stated as she looked away from the professor. "I can't hear the voice of the Planet well…" She admitted sadly, "times have changed. The Planet is probably watching the situation closely."_

_Ifalna rubbed her eyes as the professor looked away unsure of what to think of the whole thing. He shook his head before turning back to Ifalna. "Thank you Ifalna," he stated gratefully, "that will be all for today." Ifalna nodded as the professor walked over to the camera and switched it of causing the scene to fade again._

* * *

Zack and Aerith stared at the screen again before Zack took the tape out of the machine. "A weapon created by the Planet…" Aerith mused, "It must've thought it was in serious trouble."

"If Sephiroth reaches the Promised Land and summons Meteor than the Planet will be in trouble," Zack stated sadly as he took the video back to the shelf.

"Hey Zack…" Aerith called out to the drag human as she turned round to look at him. "Do you think Weapon really exists?" She asked.

"I dunno," Zack answered as he looked back at Aerith. "I never thought Sephiroth would go insane but…" Zack trailed off and shrugged before putting the video back on shelf.

"I guess anything's possible…" Aerith replied as she closed her eyes, "I never thought I'd see you again but here we are…"

"Hey Aerith…" Zack spoke up suddenly, Aerith opened her eyes and quickly turned round to see Zack stood behind her. "What do you think this is about?" He asked as he showed Aerith the video he had picked up.

"Confidential…" Aerith read the label before looking back at the drag human. "Zack, we can't watch this it's confidential…" Aerith scolded as Zack merely shrugged.

"Come on Aerith…aren't you just a tiny bit curious?" Zack asked flirtatiously.

"No I'm not!" Aerith snapped as she turned away from Zack and folded her arms.

"Come on…" Zack probed as he waved the videos in Aerith's face. "You know you want to watch it…"

Aerith resisted Zack's playful banter but after a while she couldn't resist it any longer. "Alright…" Aerith sighed as she gave in, Zack grinned and he walked over to the computer and put the confidential video in. The two watched as the scene once more came into focus.

* * *

_The_ _scene focused into the same room again only this time Ifalna was stood in the middle of the room watching the professor adjust the camera again. "What are you doing profess…I mean…honey?" Ifalna asked her husband as he continued to fiddle with the camera._

_"Oh…" the professor answered as he looked up at Ifalna. "I'm thinking of taping it on video…but the video's not working right…" He continued to examine the camera and made his adjustments._

_"What are you going to tape?" Ifalna questioned as she looked inquisitively at her husband, "is there still something I haven't mentioned?"_

_"No that's not it," the professor answered as he made his final adjustments to the camera and walked over to Ifalna and wrapped his arm round her. "I'm going to record my beautiful daughter, and when she's sleeping…her face looks like an angel's."_

_Ifalna sighed as she shook her head, "first we have to figure out her name." Ifalna stated, "We can take the video later."_

_"I've already decided!" The professor yelled enthusiastically as he smiled at Ifalna, "her name shall be Aerith!"_

_"You are SO selfish!" Ifalna shouted at the professor in a joking manner while smiling at him. "But Aerith is a good name. "He, he…It's a good name considering it came from that forgetful head of yours," she stated as she playfully tapped the professor's head. _

_"Right…" the professor stated in an offended tone before looking over at the video camera. "Oh…the video…" he added as he quickly walked over to the video camera and adjusted it and the scene faded._

_When the scene came back into view it was clear that ten days had gone by, Ifalna was stood in the middle of the room holding a small baby in her arms. She saw the professor working on the camera again and walked over to him. "Video again?" She asked in surprise, "You just got through taping!"_

_"Please don't say it that way…" The professor pleaded as he continued to make adjustments to the camera. "It's our lovely daughter, both yours and mine!" The professor continued as he stood up and walked over to Ifalna and the baby. "Don't you want to capture every moment of her childhood on video?" He asked as he started doting on his daughter._

_"If you keep doting on her like that she won't grow up to be strong…" Ifalna admonished her husband before looking down at her daughter. "Aerith is different from the other children, I wonder what dangers await her…" Ifalna pondered with a hint of concern as she held her daughter closer to her._

_The professor turned away from Ifalna, "never say that!" He yelled as he clenched his hands into fists, "I will protect you and Aerith no matter what!" He promised as he turned round to face Ifalna again, "you and Aerith are my only treasures, "I'll never let you go!"_

_"I feel so much better now darling," Ifalna stated as she smiled at the professor. "If I hadn't have met you I…" Ifalna trailed off as the Professor wrapped his arm round Ifalna and smiled at her, Ifalna turned round to face the professor and the two were about to kiss but were interrupted by a knock at the door._

_The professor and Ifalna turned round to look at the door, "who could that…" The professor asked irritably, "I was just about to…"He continued as he held his head and Ifalna covered her face, "damn! How dare they interrupt our private time!"_

_"I'll send them away…" Ifalna offered as she looked at the professor before walking over to the door and opened it, a cold wind blew through the room. "What the devil…"Ifalna asked in shock as she saw three people stood at the door. "It's them!" She yelled in a frightened tone as she ran back and hid behind the professor as two Shinra guards followed by Hojo entered the room. _

_"Heh…heh…heh…" Hojo laughed evilly as he stepped into the house and walked up to Ifalna and the professor. "I've been searching for you Ifalna…or should I say Cetra!" He yelled at Ifalna as he stared triumphantly at her. "Long time no see professor Gast," Hojo continued as he turned his attention to the professor._

_"Hojo…how did you know?" Gast asked in shock as he stared at his rival._

_Hojo merely shrugged, "believe me, I had to turn over a stone or two to find you." Hojo explained and he turned away from Gast as he shook his head. "Two years I waited…" Hojo continued to explain. "That's how much I wanted the new sample, ha, ha, ha!" Hojo laughed evilly as Gast glared at him. _

_"New Sample…you don't mean Aerith!" Gast yelled as he grabbed on to the front of Hojo's lab coat, the two guards who were with Hojo raised their guns and pointed them at Gast. Gast froze on the spot and Hojo pushed his arm away._

_"Hmmm Aerith…" Hojo mused as he grinned at Gast, "what a nice name…ha, ha, ha!" Hojo laughed manically as Gast held his head._

_"That's it! I'm severing all ties with the Shinra!" Gast yelled as he glared angrily at Hojo, "Hojo please leave…" Gast demanded through gritted teeth but Hojo refused to leave. Ifalna finally found the courage to move and she walked up to Hojo before kneeling on the floor._

_"Please, Aerith has nothing to do with this," Ifalna begged as she looked up at Hojo. "All you want is me, right?"_

_"Ifalna!" Gast yelled his wife's name as he stood there and stared at her in shock._

_Hojo looked down at Ifalna before nodding, "I need all of you for my experiments," he answered calmly as he looked up at Gast. "You understand don't you, professor Gast? We can change the future of the Planet!"_

_Gast knelt down beside Ifalna and took hold of her hand, "don't worry Ifalna, I'll take care of this." Gast reassured his wife._

_"Please don't put up a fight," Hojo pleaded. "I don't want any harm to come to my precious specimens." Hojo turned round and saw the camera, "what a funny looking camera," Hojo commented before turning to look at the guards. "Guard! Destroy it!" Hojo ordered as one of the guards turned round to look at the camera and shot it several times causing the picture to go all fuzzy and cut off, however sound could still be heard. "Be careful with her!" Hojo's high pitched voice could be heard, "ha, ha, ha!" Hojo's laughter echoed as the sound of someone being hit could be heard._

_"Wh…what are you doing? Professor?" Ifalna yelled in a frightened tone._

_"Ifalna! Take Aerith and run!" Professor Gast warned his wife as the sound of a gunshot followed by Gast yelling in pain was heard._

_"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh…Darling!" Ifalna yelled as she heard the gunshot and there was nothing but an eerie silence for a while._

_"Oh and uh…don't forget the child!" Hojo ordered breaking the silence as the sound of footsteps and screaming as someone was being dragged out of the house. Hojo's footsteps could be heard as he walked round the house. "Hmmm…a video…" Hojo mused as he picked up one of the videos, "the Ancients…Weapon…heh, heh, heh…a mountain of treasure!" Thank you professor, ha, ha, ha!" Hojo's laughter echoed through the house once more before he left._

* * *

Back in the present day Zack and Aerith were staring at the computer screen both of them were too shocked to speak. After a moment Zack turned his head round to look at Aerith, "Aerith…are you ok?" Zack asked as Aerith continued to stare at the screen in shock.

"Th…they were…" Aerith stammered still in shock, "My…my real parents…That baby in the video was…me…"

"Are you sure you're ok?" Zack asked again.

"I…I have to go…" Aerith stammered as she stood up and ran out of the house a loud sob could be heard as she left. Zack sighed sadly and he followed her out of the house, he looked around the village until he found her stood at the bottom of a small slope near a large slope leading down the mountain. Aerith had her back to Zack and her face was hidden in her hands, Zack walked up to her.

"Aerith…" Zack called the Cetra's name as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Look…I know the video was a complete shock to you, it was a shock to me too."

"Ever since I was little I knew that I was adopted," Aerith answered with a sob but she didn't turn round to face Zack. "But seeing my real parents on that screen…I…I don't know what to think…"

"Gast…I've heard that name before but I never even…" Zack sighed as he brushed one of his forelocks out of his face. "It was my fault…I coaxed you into watching that video…if I'd have…"

"It's ok…" Aerith replied as she turned round to look at Zack, her eyes were red and puffy and her face was stained with tears. "You weren't to know…I was just as curious as you deep down…I just never knew that video was about me…"

"Hey come on…" Zack stated as he wrapped his arms round Aerith and pulled her close to him. "Hojo's a sick twisted bastard…I know he did a lot of terrible things to you, but I swear Aerith, he'll never touch you again. Not while I'm around," Zack reassured Aerith as she rested her head on Zack's chest.

"Why does everyone I know or love always die or leave me?" Aerith asked tearfully as she cried into Zack's chest.

"Not everyone you know has left you," Zack answered as he stroked Aerith's hair. "I'm still here, Cloud, Tifa and the others are still here, we're not going anywhere Aerith. I'm not going anywhere, I love you too much to leave you, you know that."

Aerith nodded, "yeah, I know," Aerith replied her head was still resting on Zack's chest. "I've always wondered what happened to my real parents, now I know the truth…I'm not sure what to think."

"You don't have to think about it if you don't want to," Zack answered softly as he held the side of Aerith's face. Aerith looked up at Zack and smiled weakly but she said nothing standing like that with the drag human made her feel better and due to his body heat she was kept nice and warm. Zack smiled back at her and he wrapped his arms round Aerith to give her more warmth the two looked at each other preparing to kiss.

"Awww…the dragon and the Cetra together…how touching…" A mocking female voice suddenly spoke, Zack and Aerith quickly broke apart and turned round to see Elena of the Turks flanked by two Shinra guards who were snickering at Elena's remark.

"Elena…" Zack uttered in shock as he and Aerith stared at the Turk.

"Now that I've finally caught you I can't let you go any further!" Elena yelled as she pointed behind Zack and Aerith, the two turned round to see that they were standing near a large hill.

"What's at the bottom of that hill?" Aerith asked curiously as she and Zack turned back round to face Elena.

"It's a SE-CR-ET!" Elena answered rudely as the two Shinra guards snickered again. Elena turned round to scowl at them causing them to instantly shut up. "Not that it matters!" She quickly changed the subject as she turned her attention back to Aerith and Zack. "But you got a lot of guts seriously wounding Tseng like that!" Elena continued to shout as she glared at Zack.

"WHAT?" Zack snapped back as he glared at Elena, his claws sprang out and Zack got into a fighting stance. "I NEVER TOUCHED HIM!"

"You liar!" Elena retorted as she too got into a fighting stance, "there was a giant slash mark on Tseng's stomach! It was caused by your claws, do you deny it, mutant!"

"Let's just get a few things straight here!" Zack argued back through gritted teeth. "First of all don't call me mutant! I have a name! Second, I didn't cause those injuries to Tseng, that was Sephiroth!"

"It's true," Aerith stated coming to Zack's defence. "I saw it too, in the Temple of the Ancients." The Cetra explained hoping it would calm Elena down. "Sephiroth stabbed Tseng, Zack didn't touch him, in fact, Tseng was injured before we even entered the temple."

"Don't you dare try to defend him!" Elena shouted at Aerith as she pointed at Zack. "He did it! I know he did, dragon boy has had it in for the Turks ever since he escaped!"

"Ha, ha, ha…" Zack laughed mockingly causing Elena to scowl at him. "I have it in for the Turks…you're the ones that have been trying to capture me!" Zack snapped back as he pointed at Elena, "you're the ones that won't leave me alone!"

"DON'T YOU DARE MOCK ME!" Elena screamed at the top of her lungs, she screamed so loud that everyone in the village stopped what they were doing and stared at the group. "AND DON'T YOU DARE TRY TO ACT INNOCENT! I'LL NEVER FORGET IT!"

Zack sighed before shaking his head, "oh man…" Zack uttered irritably as he brushed one of his forelocks off his face. "Elena…will you just stop shouting…you're making a scene and we have more important things to worry about than an incompetent Turk who decided to throw a hissy fit in the middle of town because she couldn't get her own way."

The sound of grinding teeth could be heard as Elena glared at the drag human, her teeth were showing and she looked like she was ready to kill him. She then looked around and saw all the villagers that were staring at her, Zack and Aerith, Elena sighed to herself before tapping her foot and folding her arms. "I guess talking alone won't cut it," Elena stated calmly not taking her eyes off Zack. "It looks like you're gonna have to feel some pain."

Aerith stepped in between Elena and Zack, "please don't fight," Aerith begged as she gave Elena a pleading look. "Not here, you're creating enough of a scene as it is."

"It's ok Aerith," Zack reassured the Cetra as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "I can handle whatever Elena can dish out at me, but I don't want you to get hurt."

"But…" Aerith started to say.

"I'll be fine Aerith," Zack interrupted as he gave her a sly smile. "Now get out of the way before you get hurt." Aerith stared at Zack for a moment before sighing and walking to the side, Zack then turned his attention back to Elena. "Bring it on!" He called over to the Turk as he did a just bring it sign with his hand.

Elena scowled at the drag human but one of the Shinra guards stepped forwards and grinned at Zack. "Just you and me punk," the guard bragged as he cracked his knuckles.

"Pfft…please…I can beat 100 Shinra guards blindfolded and with one arm tied behind my back," Zack boasted as he scratched the back of his head. The guard got into a fighting stance and was about to run at Zack when Elena stepped up and tapped the guard on the shoulder.

"It's alright, I can handle one rogue experiment," Elena told the guard.

The guard just stared at her, "yeah…right…" the guard stated mockingly as his comrade snickered. Elena scowled at the guard and he stopped laughing.

"You better stand down," Elena ordered the guard as she pushed passed him and got into a fighting stance. "There's no way he can avoid my punch!"

The guard shrugged and walked back to his comrade, "10gil says she gets her ass handed to her," he whispered to his comrade as his comrade snickered.

"Whoever loses the bet buys the drinks," the second soldier whispered back, he too was smirking.

"You're on," his comrade agreed as they both shook hands before laughing out loud. Elena turned round to glare at the two, the two men immediate shut up and Elena turned back round to face Zack again.

Zack however had his eyes closed, his face was pointing downwards and his arms were folded. To everyone standing around him it looked like he was asleep. This caused Elena to grow even more irritated, "DON'T YOU FALL ASLEEP ON ME YOU PURPLE SKINNED BASTARD! !" Elena screamed at the top of her lungs as she charged at Zack pulling her fist back as she did so aiming to strike Zack.

Aerith was stood at the side her hands clasped over the top of her dress as she gave the scene a worried glance. "Come on Zack…don't just stand there…" Aerith pleaded in her head as Elena got closer and closer to Zack and still the drag human remained still, Aerith covered her face with her hands not wanting to watch any longer.

Elena grinned as she got closer and closer to Zack her fist started to lunge forwards as she was right up close to Zack now. At the very last second Zack's eyes suddenly snapped open and at an incomprehensible speed he reached out and grabbed Elena's fist before it could hit him.

He then grabbed her other arm and twisted both arms behind Elena's back causing the woman to wince in pain. "A word of advise to the not so wise," Zack whispered in Elena's ear as the Turk struggled weakly against the drag human's grip. "Never fight an opponent who's stronger, faster and more skilled than you."

"You just got lucky…" Elena hissed at Zack causing the drag human to laugh.

"Lucky…" Zack repeated the last word Elena said, "I knew you were coming, even with my eyes closed I knew where you were. You're not very quiet, I heard your footsteps in the snow and I could hear the sound of your heartbeat and the sound of your breathing."

"H…how…" Elena stammered as she finally realised just how strong Zack was, she knew that if he wanted to he could kill her in a single move. He could snap her neck like a twig and it frightened her.

"That's for me to know and you to never find out," Zack answered mocking as he grinned evilly at her, his fangs curled out of his mouth as he did so. "Have a nice trip," Zack whispered in Elena's ear again before he gave her a powerful shove. Elena lost her balance and she slid down the small hill and rolled down the larger slope.

"!" Elena's scream echoed throughout the entire town as she fell down the large slope, the two guards that accompanied her looked at each other and shrugged before they ran down after her.

As soon as the two guards had gone, Zack walked back over to Aerith who still had her face covered. "You can look now," Zack told the Cetra. "The scary part's over." Aerith moved her hands away from her face, there were scratch marks under her eyes where she had dug her nails in. Aerith looked up at Zack for a moment before she slapped him in the chest. "Oomph…" Zack grunted in pain as he reached for the area Aerith had hit him in.

"You really gave me a scare," Aerith admonished Zack, but at the same time she was glad that he was ok.

"Sorry," Zack apologised to Aerith as he ruffled his hair. "But I did know what I was doing," Zack explained to Aerith. "I just wanted Elena to think that she had a fighting chance."

"And that's all it was…" Aerith asked.

"Yeah," Zack answered as he smiled down at Aerith before wrapping his arms round her. "You think I was gonna let a dumb blonde who probably got into the Turks cos she slept with the boss beat me did ya?" Zack asked with an amused smile on his face.

"Zack…" Aerith rebuked the drag human.

"What?" Zack asked as he stared innocently at Aerith, the Cetra however just scowled at him. "Ok, ok…I was just kidding…but she is incompetent."

"I know," Aerith answered as she rested her head in Zack's chest again. "But, what do we do now?"

Zack was about to answer when a man walked up to them from the giant slope. "They sure were weak for Shinras," the man spoke up as Zack and Aerith turned round to stare at the man. "I saw the whole thing," the man answered before the drag human or the Cetra could ask. "I must say I was impressed at that display of skill you showed, it was cocky, but impressive nevertheless."

Zack brushed one of his forelocks out of his face, "thanks," Zack replied, he then noticed that the man hadn't flinched or ran away at the sight of him. "Wait…" Zack uttered in surprise at this observation, "I look like a freak but you didn't flinch or run away, why?"

"If you truly were a monster, you'd blindly attack anyone or anything you saw." The man answered as he smiled at Zack, "I know you're not really a monster, if I hadn't have seen you with this young lady I would've thought otherwise."

"I see…makes sense," Zack stated not taking his eyes off the man.

"What's down there?" Aerith asked as she pointed to the giant slope in front of her.

"The Great Glacier," the man answered as he too looked at the slope. "It's extremely dangerous down there, it's said that there is an unnatural blizzard down there." The man warned the two.

"Unnatural blizzard…" Zack repeated what the man had said, "the cold doesn't really bother me, besides if the Shinra are heading in that direction we need to go down there."

"Well, it looks like I can't persuade you otherwise, but you will need snowboards to get down there." The man told Zack and Aerith.

"Snowboards…" Aerith uttered a hint of worry in her voice, "I've never been snowboarding before."

"Don't worry Aerith, I'll help you," Zack reassured the Cetra. "As long as you stay with me nothing bad will happen to you."

"Thank you Zack," Aerith replied gratefully. She was about to saw more but Cloud and Tifa walked up to the two.

"Hey guys," Tifa cheerfully greeted her friends as Aerith and Zack turned round to look at them.

"Hi Tifa," Aerith greeted back. "Are those new gauntlets?" She asked as she pointed at Tifa's new weapons.

"Yep," Tifa answered as she clawed at the air with them. "Dragon gauntlets, I can claw at my opponents to damage them just like Zack can."

"Nice…" Zack complimented the dark haired woman as she grinned.

"We were just on our way to the inn to meet the others," Cloud explained. "But we saw you two up here and decided to come up, we also saw Elena running up with two Shinra guard flunkies."

"What was going on?" Tifa asked as she stared at Zack and Aerith, "why was she here?"

"Not too sure myself," Zack answered with as he shrugged his shoulders. "She was looking for a fight though, waltzing up here accusing me of wounding Tseng and shouting the odds."

"What happened…" Cloud demanded as he gave Zack a stern stare.

"She went rolling down the hill," Zack replied trying hard to keep a straight face. Cloud and Tifa just stared at him.

"Need I ask how she went rolling down the hill?" Cloud asked with an exasperated sigh as Zack grinned at the ex SOLDIER.

"Well…" Zack started to explain.

"Forget it," Cloud cut in quickly. "I don't want to know."

"Anyway, the gentleman over there said we need snowboards to go down that slope." Aerith changed the subject as she pointed to large slope.

"If I'd have known that earlier I would've used Elena as a snowboard." Zack stated in a joking manner, Cloud snickered at this remark but Aerith and Tifa glared at the two. "Just kidding…" Zack added quickly.

"And don't encourage him Cloud," Tifa added as she jabbed a finger into the blond haired man's chest. "I swear he's a bad influence on you."

"Hey…can I help it if I'm a comedian?" Zack asked in a joking manner which caused Tifa to scowl at him. "Point taken…" Zack added quickly, "anyway…everyone's probably waitin' for us at the inn," Zack changed the subject before walking back up the small slope to the main part of the village. Cloud, Tifa and Aerith looked at each other for a moment before shrugging and following Zack.

The four got to a large building where everyone else was waiting for them, "you all took your time," Vincent stated in his usual taciturn manner as he leaned against the wall. "What kept you?" Zack and Aerith explained everything that had happened since they arrived in the village.

"Damn Turks!" Cid cursed loudly as he had a cigarette in his mouth and was searching his pockets for his cigarette lighter before remembering that he no longer had it. "Fuck!" Cid cursed again as he spat the unlit cigarette out of his mouth and crushed it under his foot. "What's the point in havin' a cigarette if I can't light the bloody thing?" Aerith discretely tapped her jacket pocket and Cid was none the wiser, still believing that he had dropped his lighter somewhere.

"So what's our next move?" Red asked as he looked at Zack.

"Well, if we're to get down to the Great Glacier we need snowboards," Zack answered, "I guess it would be pretty easy to find snowboards we could just ask the villagers. Hmmm…the only person who may have a problem with a snowboard would be Barret, I don't think he'd be able to keep balanced what with his large body." Zack added as he gave Barret a cheeky grin.

Barret pointed his gun arm at Zack's head, "you just shut yer fuckin' mouth or I'll blow yer head off!" Barret snapped at the drag human.

"It's called a joke Barret…" Zack stated nervously.

"Guys…" Tifa called out to them as she walked up to Barret and pulled his gun arm away from Zack's head. "Look, this isn't going to help anyone, let's just find some snowboards so we can get down there."

"You're right Tifa," Barret agreed with the dark haired woman.

"Yeah…" Zack added.

"Good," Tifa stated matter of factly. "Let's go find those snowboards," everyone split off again and started to look for some snowboards that they could use.

Yuffie entered a house near the inn and she found a map hanging on the wall, "a map to the Great Glacier," Yuffie read the plaque under the map. "Hmmm…this may come in useful," Yuffie looked around for anyone that might walk down the hallway before she quickly snatched the map off the wall and put it into her bag before walking out of the house whistling a tune to herself trying to look innocent.

Zack and Aerith walked into a shop that sold snowboarding and skiing gear, they looked around and found some snowboards on the shelf. "Hey, these don't look too bad," Zack remarked as he grabbed one of the snowboards from the shelf. "They seem pretty sturdy, let's see…" Zack started to make some calculations, "there's me, Cloud, Tifa, Vincent, Cid and Yuffie. Hmmm…well, Red can easily run down that slope…as for Barret and Cait Sith…well…we'll think of something." Zack stated as he grabbed six more snowboards from the shelf and started to walk off.

"What about me?" Aerith asked as she followed Zack.

The drag human turned round and looked at the Cetra, "hmmm…well, you can't exactly use a snowboard in that dress. It wouldn't exactly give you much room to move and twist in with the turns, not to mention it might get ripped." Zack answered, "hmmm…wait a minute…" Zack stated as he looked to his left and saw some skis. "You don't mind using skis do you?"

"I don't know how to ski," Aerith told Zack a hint of worry in her voice.

"Don't worry," Zack reassured his girlfriend. "It's not that different from snowboarding, only, your feet are attached to two of these things instead of one, and you use those poles to propel yourself. You'll soon pick it up."

Aerith smiled, "well, since you put it that way," she stated as she grabbed a pair of pink skis with a floral pattern on them and the matching pink sticks. "These ones look nice," she commented as she kept hold of them. "Oooooooohhhhh…these will be good for Cait Sith," Aerith continued as she picked out a pair of black and white skis and the sticks.

"Ok, so that's you and Cait Sith sorted out," Zack stated as he and Aerith carried on walking down the aisles. "We just need something for Barret, question is what can we get…hello…" Zack uttered with a grin as he spotted what looked like a sled on one of the shelves, Zack put all the snowboards down on the floor and dragged the large and heavy sled off the shelf and looked at it. "A pedal powered sled," Zack remarked as he examined it. "This'll be right up Barret's street, he can control it with the pedals."

"It's perfect," Aerith agreed before she noticed the price tag and looked at it. "A bit expensive though."

"It'll be worth the investment," Zack stated as he picked up the snowboards and put them inside the sled. "Put the skis in as well, then I can take all the stuff to the counter to pay for it." Zack told Aerith, the Cetra put the skis on top of the snowboards and Zack took all the items to the counter to pay for it all. As soon as Zack had bought all the equipment he and Aerith left the shop and made their way to the giant slope where everyone else was waiting for them. "Hey guys," Zack greeted his friends as he and Aerith stopped in front of them. "Sorry we're late."

"It's ok," Tifa stated as she smiled at the two. "We haven't had much luck with finding any snowboards," she explained sadly. "No one was willing to lend us their snowboards…well not for free anyway."

"Lousy mother fuckin' cheapskates…" Cid cursed under his breath, "I was this close to rammin' my spear up their asses!"

Zack laughed when he heard that, "well it's a good thing me and Aerith bought enough equipment for everyone when we entered one of the stores." He stated happily as he and Aerith stepped to the side to reveal the equipment they bought for everyone.

The group walked up to the equipment and started to grab them, "wow!" Cloud exclaimed as he examined his snowboard, "these look pretty sturdy, it must've set you back though."

"Don't worry about it," Zack reassured Cloud, "you can start paying me back later."

"In about sixty years," Cloud stated in a joking manner.

Cloud and Zack started laughing, "but seriously though…you need to start paying me back," Zack stated in a serious tone as he suddenly stopped laughing.

"What the fuck is this?" Barret questioned as he stared at the sled in front of him.

"That's a pedal powered sled," Aerith answered kindly as she began to explain it to Barret. "You see, you use the two pedals at the sides to control the acceleration and the middle one is the brakes, and you lean from side to side to turn it."

"Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?" Barret demanded as he glared at Aerith.

"No it's not," Aerith replied in an offended tone as she folded her arms and glared back at Barret. "Me and Zack bought it because we thought it would be easier for you, but we'll just take it back if you don't like it."

"Fine…I'll use it…" Barret sighed as he gave in, he dragged the sled to the edge of the slope and climbed in it as everyone sorted themselves out and joined him at the edge of the slope.

Everyone looked at each other before looked back at the slope again, "see you guys at the bottom!" Cloud yelled to his friends as they all moved forwards and started going down the slope.

Aerith looked down at the skis connected to her feet and at the sticks she was holding in her hands. "It's not that different from snowboarding," Zack's voice echoed in Aerith's mind. "Only, your feet are attached to two of these things instead of one, and you use those poles to propel yourself. You'll soon pick it up." Aerith sighed to herself as she pushed the sticks into the snow and used them to propel herself forwards. After a while she caught up to Zack who was weaving in and out of obstacles such as rocks and trees with ease, he looked to his left and grinned when he saw Aerith.

"Hey!" Zack called out to Aerith as he waved to her, "you're actually catching up to me."

"Yeah," Aerith replied as she smiled back at him, "it was pretty scary at first, but you were right, I am starting to get the hang of it."

Zack laughed, "We'll make a pro out of you yet."

"MOVE OUT OF MA WAY!" A booming voice echoed through out the entire mountain, Aerith and Zack swerved out of the way just in time as Barret sped down the slope in his pedal powered sled.

"WATCH WHERE YER GOIN' YA FUCKIN' MANIAC!" Cid's angry yell echoed as he was almost hit by Barret's sled.

Barret just ignored the bad tempered pilot as he carried on going down the slope, Aerith and Zack chuckled to themselves. "Sound's like Barret likes his sled," Aerith spoke to Zack.

"Yeah," the drag human agreed as he nodded his head. "We better speed up if we want to catch up with him." Zack thrust his body forwards to make himself move faster, Aerith pushed the ski poles into the slope faster to gain speed. Zack noticed a small hill on the slope and he swerved so that he could travel along it. The drag human crouched slightly and he jumped just as he reached the edge of the small hill,

"!" Zack yelled at the top of his lungs as he performed a variety of tricks in midair before landing perfectly on the slope again.

Aerith shook her head when she saw that, "you're such a show off Zack Fair," Aerith stated in a flirtatious manner.

"Really…" Zack responded just as flirtatiously as he grinned at Aerith. "I'll have you know that I'm quite the snowboarding expert." Aerith thought about it for a moment before increasing her speed again, "hey!" Zack called out to the Cetra.

"Catch me if you can, Mr Snowboarding expert!" Aerith challenged Zack as she zoomed ahead of him.

"I'll show you!" Zack called out to Aerith as he increased his speed to catch up with the Cetra.

Cloud and Tifa were further down the slope, way ahead of everyone else. "Where do you suppose the others are?" Tifa asked the blond haired man next to her.

"Not sure," Cloud answered as he shrugged his shoulders. "Probably further up the slope, they're so slow."

"Well, maybe they're not as good at snowboarding as we are," Tifa stated a slight boast in her voice, Cloud laughed when he heard that.

"Well, you seem to live up to your expectations," Cloud remarked as he smiled at Tifa.

"Really…" Tifa asked as she looked at Cloud with a soft smile.

"Well, you were able to keep up with me," Cloud commented, "it takes someone with real skill to…whoa!" Cloud suddenly yelled.

"What is it?" Tifa asked the ex SOLDIER a hint of worry in her voice.

"THE SLOPE'S ABOUT TO END!" Cloud yelled in a panicked tone as he pointed to the edge of the slope and what looked like a long drop.

"OH SHIT!" Tifa shouted as she saw the gap, Cloud and Tifa turned sideways on their boards and dug the boards into the slope hoping to slow themselves down but unfortunately they were too late and they fell over the edge.

"!" Cloud and Tifa screamed in unison as they fell off the edge of the slope, each holding on to the other for dear life.

Yuffie and Vincent had taken a completely different direction to the one Cloud and Tifa had taken. "Man, this feels good!" Yuffie yelled happily as the cool wind wiped passed her hair. "Wouldn't you say so Vincent?"

"It's ok, I suppose," Vincent replied indifferently as his long hair blew in the wind.

"You're such a killjoy!" Yuffie scolded Vincent as she glared at him.

"And you need to keep an eye on what's in front of you," Vincent stated calmly unfazed by Yuffie's glare.

"Will you relax?" Yuffie scoffed still not taking her eyes off Vincent, "I know what I'm doing."

"Then you'll also know that we're about to hit a dead end," Vincent warned the ninja in his usual taciturn manner as he pointed in front of him.

"What?" Yuffie questioned in a confused voice but she turned round and looked in the direction that Vincent was pointing in. "!" Yuffie screamed at the top of her lungs as she desperately tried to stop herself from going out of the edge, but she was unable to stop herself from going over the edge.

"Hang on Yuffie!" Vincent yelled as he sped up and went over the edge was well, he reached out and grabbed hold of Yuffie's arm.

"Huh…" Yuffie uttered as she looked up and saw Vincent, "wow, Vincent you actually do have a heart. You really do care."

"Don't get too used to it," Vincent told Yuffie as the two continued to fall.

"Looks like a long way down," Yuffie uttered in a frightened tone as Vincent tightened his grip on Yuffie's arm.

"Just hang on tight," Vincent advised Yuffie as the two continued to fall. "It'll be all over soon." Yuffie gulped nervously as Vincent held on to her for dear life.

Barret, Cid and Red took another path on the slope, "you're fuckin' lethal with that thing Barret!" Cid yelled at the man with the gun arm.

"I'm surprised you were able to keep up with me!" Barret boasted as he grinned at the pilot, "I mean, I'm surprised you managed to keep your balance on that stick!"

"Why you?" Cid started to argue with Barret as he glared at the man with the gun arm.

"Errrr…perhaps you'd like to continue your argument some other time," Red cut in before Cid could come out with any comebacks. "The slope is coming to an abrupt end."

"WHAT DO YA MEAN THE SLOPE'S COMING TO AN ABRUPT END!" Cid and Barret yelled at the same time as they stared at the red beast that was running in between them.

"Exactly that!" Red shouted back in a worried tone as he gestured to the edge of the slope with his head. "There's no more mountain to go down!"

"!" The trio yelled at the top of their lungs as they tried with all their might to stop themselves.

Cid skidded to a stop right at the edge of the slope, "phew…" Cid heaved a huge sigh of relief just before Red bumped into him. "Ow! Hey watch it!" Cid yelled at the beast.

"LOOK OUT!" Barret warned loudly as he crashed into his two friends causing all three of them to fall off the edge. "! They all yelled at the top of their lungs as they fell off the edge.

Meanwhile Zack and Aerith were still racing against each other, Zack managed to get ahead of Aerith. "I'm gonna beat ya Aerith!" Zack yelled cheerfully as he looked back at Aerith, "I'm gonna…" Zack stopped as he turned back round to look where he was going and his eyes grew wide in shock. "Whoa!" Zack yelled, "what happened to the rest of the slope?" Zack turned his body round in an attempt to stop himself but he wasn't quick enough and he went over the edge, but the claws on his left hand sprung out and Zack quickly dug the claws into the cliff edge and he stopped himself from falling. "Phew…" Zack sighed in relief.

"Whoa! Zack!" Aerith shouted in a panic as she too approached the edge of the slope and fell over it, she would've fallen all the way if a strong hand hadn't have grabbed hold of her in time, however the skis and the poles came loose and fell. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Aerith screamed as she watched the skis and the poles fall.

"It's ok Aerith, I got you!" Zack reassured the Cetra, "I'm not gonna let you go!"

"You'd better not!" Aerith yelled up to the drag human, Zack felt the snowboard loosen before it too fell. Zack dug his claws deeper into the cliff edge in an effort to save himself and Aerith from falling.

"THE SLOPE! THE SLOPE IS COMING TO END!" Cait Sith's panicked yells could be heard as the cat and Mog flew over the edge.

"Cait Sith…JUMP!" Zack called out to the cybernetic cat, Cait Sith leapt off the Mog's shoulder his arms and legs flailing about in midair until he grabbed hold of Zack's tail. The three watched as the Mog fell, and they could hear an explosion as it crash landed.

"There goes my ride," Cait Sith whispered sadly as he continued to look down, Zack, Aerith and Cait Sith flinched as they started to fall again. "WHAT'S GOIN' ON?" Cait Sith called up to Zack.

"My claws!" Zack answered as he looked back up to the cliff edge, "they're loosing their grip!" Zack warned his two comrades as his claws started to slip out of the cliff edge.

"Does this mean we're gonna fall?" Aerith yelled up to Zack as she gave him a desperate stare.

"Ok!" Zack called down to his two friends, "I'm gonna open my wings and push away from the cliff edge ok!"

"Ok!" Cait Sith and Aerith yelled at the same time.

"Hang on tight!" Zack warned as he tightened his grip round Aerith's waist and Cait Sith tightened his grip round Zack's tail. "Ok, here we go!" Zack yelled one last time before he opened his wings and pushed himself off the cliff edge, the claws in his left hand retracted as Zack hovered in midair. "It's a good job I can fly," Zack stated as he looked down at his two friends. "Are you two ok?" He asked.

"Yeah, we're fine," Aerith answered as she smiled up at Zack.

Zack smiled back, "good," Zack responded, "ok, I'm gonna fly down and see if I can find solid ground to land on." Aerith and Cait Sith nodded to show that they understood, Zack changed his position so that his head was pointing downwards and he began to fly down. He eventually found solid ground and he landed safely.

"Phew…" Aerith sighed with relief as Zack released her and she landed on the ground, "that was close."

"Yeah," Zack agreed, "how are you doing Cait Sith…Cait Sith…" Zack asked as he began to look around for Cait Sith. "Where are you?"

Zack eventually turned round and he saw Cait Sith clinging tightly to his tail, his synthetic fur was standing on end and he was babbling like an idiot. "Th…the slope just ended…Mog fell to death…could've been me…"

"Errr…Cait Sith…" Zack called out to the cat trying to get him to come to his senses, "do you mind loosening your grip…you're errr…hurting my tail…" Zack asked wincing in pain as he did so, Cait Sith continued to babble like an idiot and it took all of Zack's strength to pry the cybernetic cat off his tail.

The three began to look around, "where are we?" Aerith asked as she continued to look around at the frozen surroundings.

"I think, this might be the Great Glacier," Zack answered as he saw a sign and he began to read it. "Yeah, this is the Great Glacier, we made it."

"But…what about the others?" Aerith asked, her voice was filled with concern for her friends.

"Don't worry," Zack reassured the Cetra as he wrapped his arm round her. "Those guys can take care of themselves, besides, we can find 'em."

Aerith smiled and nodded, "yeah, you're right." She agreed with the drag human before she started shivering suddenly, "brrr…it sure is cold down here."

"Are you sure?" Zack asked Aerith as he gave her a questioning look, "cos, I don't feel a thing."

"Hmmm…maybe it's because of your mutation," Cait Sith mused clearly back to his senses. "Me however, I can feel the cold rushing through my circuits."

"In that case, we better get moving," Zack suggested, he released his hold on Aerith and he knelt down beside Cait Sith. "I think it would be best if you sat on my shoulder," Zack stated helpfully. "I know I'm not your Mog but I don't see any other way round it." Cait Sith looked at Zack before nodding and he climbed up the drag human's arm and sat down on his shoulder. Zack stood up carefully and he turned round to look at Aerith, "ok, let's go and find the others, stay close to me." Aerith nodded and the three started to travel north to search for their friends.

"Uuuuuuuuuhhhh…" Tifa moaned softly as she began to stir, the dark haired woman held her head as she slowly sat up. "That was a rough landing…" Tifa looked around and she saw Cloud lying a few feet away from her. "Cloud!" She called the blond haired man's name as she leapt to her feet and ran towards him.

"Uuuuuuuhhhh…huh…" Cloud muttered as he started to regain consciousness, he opened his eyes and he saw Tifa looking down at him. "Tifa…" He uttered the woman's name as he sat up, "you're ok…"

"Yeah," Tifa answered as she reached her hand out to help the man up. "Grab on."

Cloud smiled as he grabbed hold of Tifa's hand and the woman helped him to his feet, "where are we?" Cloud asked as he looked all around him.

"I'm not sure," Tifa answered as she too looked all around her. "But, it looks like we're on our own."

"I wonder where the others are," Cloud questioned, "I hope they're ok."

"Is that concern I'm hearing from you Cloud Strife?" Tifa asked in a half joking manner as she gave the blond haired man an amused smile.

Cloud scowled at Tifa, "it's not funny!" Cloud admonished as Tifa laughed at him. "Anyway, we better get going if we want to find the others."

"Yeah," Tifa agreed trying hard not to laugh at Cloud again, "we'll freeze to death if we stay here any longer." Tifa continued as the two travelled east through a small forest.

* * *

"Owwww…" Cid muttered as he woke up and looked around him, "what the fuck happened?" He demanded as he staggered to his feet and walked over to Barret and Red XIII.

"It would seem that we're at the bottom of the mountain," Red answered as he leapt to his feet and shook the snow off his fur.

"Hey watch it!" The pilot snapped at Red but the beast ignored him.

"Bottom of the mountain," Barret repeated Red's words as he too staggered to his feet. "So where the hell are we?"

"I think we're in the Great Glacier," Red replied as the group looked around to find themselves next to a single tree. "I've read about it in a book from my grandpa's library."

"Is there anythin' you don't read?" Cid demanded as he shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"No, not really," Red answered as he scowled at Cid. "But I think it would be best if we got moving, this chill is getting to my very bones."

"That's the smartest thing you've said all fuckin' day!" Cid exclaimed not taking his eyes off the red beast. "Why not make yerself even more useful and use your animal instincts to guide us through this godforsaken frozen waste land…" Cid demanded, Red sighed exasperatedly but he led his friends south away from the tree.

* * *

"Ewww…yuk!" Yuffie yelled as she spat out mouthfuls of snow before pulling herself into a kneeling position. "I hate snow! I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!"

"Thank you for saving my life Vincent…" Vincent's cold and sarcastic voice suddenly spoke, Yuffie looked up and saw the dark man stood over her.

"Don't just stand there!" Yuffie snapped at Vincent, "help me up! I'm freezing down here!"

Vincent sighed to himself but he reached his hand out to Yuffie, the ninja grabbed hold of Vincent's hand and Vincent helped her to her feet. "The Great Glacier I presume," Vincent spoke up as he looked around him.

"Great Glacier…" Yuffie repeated what Vincent said when she suddenly remembered something, "hey, wait a minute, I just remembered!" Yuffie exclaimed as she reached into her bag and took out the map that she had taken from the house. Vincent just stared at Yuffie in shock.

"Where…the hell…did you get that?" Vincent demanded not taking his eyes off either Yuffie or the map.

"I took it from a house in the village," Yuffie answered as she starting looking at the map, she could sense that Vincent was still staring at her and she peered up at him from the top of the map. "I know what you're gonna say Vincent so don't bother."

"I wasn't going to say anything," the dark haired man lied.

"Good, keep it that way," Yuffie remarked as she looked back down at the map. "Let's see, according to the map there should be a hot spring just north of us." Yuffie stated as she looked up and smiled at Vincent, "come on let's go!" She yelled impatiently as she grabbed Vincent's arm and started to drag him away, Vincent merely sighed to himself but he let Yuffie drag him away. After a while the two arrived at what looked like a stream with steam trailing out of it, Yuffie and Vincent could feel the heat from the stream from a mile away. "The hot spring!" Yuffie exclaimed excitedly as she ran over to it. "Just like the map said!" Yuffie continued to shout as she knelt down beside it.

Vincent shook his head and sighed before walking up to Yuffie, "are you sure this is the right hot spring?" He asked, as Yuffie looked up and scowled at him.

"Yes…" Yuffie sighed, "according to the map this is the only hot spring in the area," Yuffie continued as she turned back round to look at the spring. She placed her hands in the warm water, "aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh…" Yuffie let out a relaxed moan. "This water is so warm…you gotta try this Vincent."

Vincent stared at Yuffie but nevertheless he knelt down and placed one of his hands into the warm yet refreshing water. "For once you're right," Vincent agreed with Yuffie as he felt the warm sensation on his fingers. "This water is warm."

"See I told you," Yuffie boasted as she stood up. "Well I think we're ready to move on, now let's see." Yuffie took the map out of her pocket and looked at it again, "the map says we go north from here."

"Are you sure?" Vincent questioned as he too stood up and stared at Yuffie.

"I'm sure," Yuffie answered as she put the map back into her pocket, "come on let's go!" Yuffie yelled enthusiastically as she ran north, Vincent sighed to himself as he shook his head and ran to catch up with Yuffie. As soon as they entered the next area they were hit by a sudden blizzard, "shit!" Yuffie cursed as she shielded her eyes and braced herself so that she wouldn't get blown away. "Where'd the blizzard come from?"

"This area is well known for its blizzards!" Vincent answered loudly over the roaring of the wind, he too shielded his eyes so that he wouldn't get the snow in his face. "Where do we go from here?"

"Errrr…north…no wait…east…" Yuffie swapped and changed as she tried to guess the right direction, she didn't want to take the map out in case it blew away.

"Let's just keep heading west!" Vincent suggested, "See where that takes us!"

"Which way is west?" Yuffie questioned loudly, Vincent sighed, he grabbed Yuffie by the hand and started to guide her through the blizzard. They walked in that fashion for half an hour until the blizzard stopped as suddenly as it came and the two found themselves outside a cave. "We did it!" Yuffie yelled as she jumped up and down and hugged Vincent, "we beat the blizzard!"

"I should've left you in that blizzard…" Vincent muttered to himself.

"What was that?" Yuffie asked as she stopped hugging Vincent and stared at him.

"Nothing," Vincent lied, "let's stay in that cave for a while," he suggested as he pointed to the cave.

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Yuffie agreed enthusiastically as she ran into the cave. Vincent shook his head and he followed Yuffie into the cave, the cave itself consisted only of a single chamber but the chamber was large and rectangular in nature, Yuffie and Vincent walked to the centre of the cave and sat down on the cave floor.

"New comers to my abode," A deep female voice suddenly spoke up as a scantly clad blue skinned woman approached the two, she walked up to Vincent and began to stroke his face. "Hey there handsome…" she whispered in a seductive tone as she continued to stroke his face. "Why don't I show you a good time…"

Vincent said nothing but he just sat there indifferent to the blue skinned woman who was seducing him. However Yuffie became increasingly annoyed at the woman's presence, "hey!" Yuffie yelled angrily as she leapt to her feet and stormed up to the woman. "He's already spoken for! So back off!" The ninja threatened the woman as she jabbed her finger into the woman's chest.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" The woman screamed as she took a few steps back holding the area where Yuffie had touched her. "Your hands…they've been in that horrible hot spring! How could you?"

"That's what you get for putting your filthy, frozen hands on my man!" Yuffie yelled back as she took her shuriken out and glared at the snow woman.

"You're man…" Vincent uttered as he stood up and stared at Yuffie, Yuffie ignored Vincent as she continued to glare at the snow woman.

"Ha, ha, ha!" The woman laughed mockingly at Yuffie, "like a handsome man like him would go out with an insolent brat like you!"

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…!" Yuffie yelled at the top of her lungs as she charged at the snow woman and threw her shuriken at the woman. However she easily knocked it away and it went flying into the wall.

"Humph…you're not very skilled…why don't you go home little girl and play with your dollies…" The woman mocked as Yuffie pulled her shuriken out of the wall and charged at the woman again.

"Dollies! What do you think I am ten years old!" Yuffie screamed as she continued to run at the woman, the woman brought her hand up to her mouth and breathed on to it creating ice, she slowly moved her hand round aiming the ice breath at Yuffie.

However the ninja easily dodged it and aimed a kick at the woman's chest. The woman was knocked backwards but she spread her legs out to brace herself before launching two beams of ice out of her hands at Yuffie. Yuffie held her shuriken out in front of her and spun it round like a windmill deflecting the ice beams so that they shot off in two separate directions. One of them was heading straight for Vincent but he calmly stepped to the side as the beam hit the wall behind him.

The woman charged at Yuffie and punched her hard in the stomach, however Yuffie didn't flinch and she punched back. The two women fought in this style for what seemed like an eternity and Vincent looked from one woman to the other as he watched the fight. The woman aimed another kick at Yuffie and ended up ripping the ninja's shirt, Yuffie stared down at the now ripped shirt.

Yuffie slowly lifted her head up and glared at the snow woman before she was surrounded by a bright light and her shuriken glowed. Vincent could do nothing but stare in awe at Yuffie. "!" Yuffie yelled as she charged at the woman and started slashing furiously at her, (**A/N, yes this is one of Yuffie's limit breaks, it is called Bloodfest. With this limit Yuffie continuously hacks at her enemies with her shuriken. Of course I added a slight variation with the shuriken glowing.**)

"You…ripped…my…shirt…you…bitch!" Yuffie screamed in between slashes, the snow woman was completely helpless as Yuffie continued to hack at her. The snow woman coughed up blood as more and more wounds appeared on her body. After the fiftieth slash, Yuffie leapt away from the woman and put the shuriken back into the circular sheath on her back. The woman screamed in pain as she collapsed to the floor lifeless and a small red orb detached itself from a headband on the woman's head. Yuffie grinned at the dead woman's body, "no one messes with Yuffie Kisaragi and lives to brag about it!" Yuffie yelled as she punched the air victoriously, she turned round and saw Vincent who was still staring at her in shock.

"Y…Yuffie…" Vincent finally found his voice as he walked towards the ninja, "that was…impressive…"

"Yeah well…she picked the wrong girl to mess with…and no one gets between Yuffie and her man…" Yuffie stated as she smiled flirtatiously at Vincent.

"You do know your shirt is still ripped," Vincent reminded Yuffie.

Yuffie looked down and noticed that her shirt was ripped in such a way that her cleavage was showing. "Aaaaaahhhh…" Yuffie uttered in embarrassment as she quickly covered it up with her arms. "I didn't realise how badly damaged it was…good thing I have a spare," Yuffie stated as she reached into her bag and pulled out a spare shirt.

"Although come to think of it, this shirt won't really go with this outfit…I better change the whole thing." Yuffie commented as she took out more clothes from her bag. Not needing to be told Vincent turned away from Yuffie to give her some privacy while she got changed. "Ok, you can look now," Yuffie told Vincent a few moments later, Vincent turned round and he saw that Yuffie was wearing a black shirt with white floral patterns on it, a black, sleeveless, open jacket. She wore grey coloured shorts, a single black glove on her right hand and a white sweatband on her left hand. She wore black knee length socks and grey boots. (**A/N, the outfit I was describing is her Advent Children attire, I thought what with her getting her green shirt ripped that it would be a good idea for her to change her outfit.**)

Vincent continued to stare at Yuffie, "Errrr…Yuffie…that outfit…"

"One thing you learn about being on the road, take several outfits with you. You'll never know when you might need them," Yuffie advised as she walked over to the dead woman. "It looks like she dropped something," Yuffie stated as she bent down to pick the red orb up. "It's a piece of Materia," Yuffie informed as she walked back over to Vincent.

"Well, I better take that then," Vincent stated as he took the Materia off Yuffie.

"Hey!" Yuffie yelled as she desperately tried to get the Materia back, "I killed that slut! I earned the Materia so it's mine!"

"Actually, it's everyone's Materia," Vincent reminded Yuffie as he calmly held it out of Yuffie's reach. "We're a team which means we share, besides, I wouldn't trust you with our Materia if my life depended on it." Yuffie scowled at Vincent but the dark haired man ignored her. "I will be keeping it safe until we find the others, then I can give it to Aerith." Vincent stated as he put the Materia in his pocket.

"Fine…" Yuffie sighed, "You know you're gonna have to trust me sometime."

Vincent sighed as he scowled at Yuffie, "there'll be more chance of Meteor destroying the world than me trusting you." Vincent replied cynically as he turned round and walked out of the cave.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Yuffie called after Vincent but the man didn't answer, "Hey!" Yuffie yelled again as she ran out of the cave after Vincent, "wait for me, I have the map!"

"Then tell us where we should be going next," Vincent remarked. Yuffie stuck her tongue out at Vincent before taking the map out.

"We head north," Yuffie stated as she pointed back to the way they came from. Vincent sighed before he and Yuffie headed north again.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cloud and Tifa had walked out of the forest they were travelling through. They had fought numerous monsters in the forest but they were no match for the swordsman and the martial artist. "Am I glad to be out of that forest," Tifa stated as she sighed with relief. "I thought we were never gonna get out of there."

"Yeah," Cloud agreed as he smiled at Tifa, "it seemed to go on forever." The two came to a stop at three other paths and Cloud looked around wondering where to go next. "We really could've done with a map," Cloud stated as he continued to look down the three paths. "Ok, which way do we go? Tifa, why don't you pick out a path…"

"Hmmm…" Tifa thought as she walked up to Cloud and looked at the three paths. "The left one," she answered.

"Alright, the left path it is," Cloud stated as he and Tifa took the left path. The path seemed to lead downwards and for the first few minutes the two seemed to be going strong. But after a while they both started to succumb to the cold, "not long now…" Cloud called to Tifa who was slightly behind him.

"Can't go on…much longer…" Tifa muttered as she slowly collapsed to the ground and fell unconscious.

Cloud stopped and he turned round and walked back to her, "come on Tifa…" Cloud called to the dark haired woman as he knelt down and gently shook her. "Don't give up on me now…" Cloud sighed sadly to himself, "I need you…" Cloud held Tifa in his arms and to his shock he realised that she was cold to the touch. "So cold…" Cloud whispered as he stroked Tifa's face, "I wish I had a jacket I could wrap you up in…" Cloud suddenly felt the chill hit him. "Strange…I feel…so sleepy all of a sudden…" Cloud muttered as he too collapsed to the ground unconscious.

* * *

In another part of the Great Glacier, Red was walking on ahead along the trail. "Hmmm…my instincts are telling me to keep going…" Red stated to himself as he sniffed the air. "Let's keep going guys…guys…" Red turned round and he saw Barret and Cid walking slowly behind him.

"Phew…" Cid heaved as he tried to catch his breath, "slow down will ya? We're not as young as we used to be," Cid complained as he and Barret stopped.

"The exercise will do you both good," Red merely stated.

"There's exercise and there's wanderin' round aimlessly in a godforsaken frozen wasteland!" Barret grumbled.

"Not to mention I'm freezin' my ass off here!" Cid added as he shivered, "man I feel like I'm gonna fuckin' collapse…" Cid uttered.

"Hey! Not before me you ain't!" Barret snapped as he jabbed a finger into Cid's chest.

"Say's who?" Cid retorted as he shoved Barret away.

Red sighed as he shook his head, "why did I have to be stuck with these idiots?" He muttered to himself as he started to walk off.

"Say's me that's who?" Barret argued back as he glared at Cid. "If you collapse now, who's gonna carry me if I collapse further down the line?"

Cid laughed, "well you should'a thought of that before…oh crap…" Cid cursed as he collapsed.

"Awwwww shit!" Barret cursed loudly as he kicked Cid hoping that would wake him up. "Stupid mother fuck…shit…" Barret swore under his breath as he too collapsed.

Red sighed as he walked back to the two unconscious men, " well, the plus side is I can finally get some peace and…hmmm…taking a quick nap won't be so bad…" Red uttered as he collapsed next to Barret and Cid.

* * *

Yuffie and Vincent went back the way they came and found themselves caught in the blizzard again. "Will this blizzard ever end?" Yuffie yelled above the blizzard.

"Maybe if you stopped complaining we might get out of it faster!" Vincent snapped not bothering to look at Yuffie.

"I hate this place!" Yuffie continued to complain before suddenly feeling extremely cold, "down I go…" Yuffie mumbled to herself as she fell to the floor.

"Finally…a little peace and quiet!" Vincent yelled over the roaring wind, "you doing ok back there Yuffie…Yuffie…" Vincent called out the ninja's name but she didn't answer, Vincent turned round and saw Yuffie lying in the snow unconscious. The dark haired man sighed as he walked back over to Yuffie and knelt down beside her. "I have a feeling I'm gonna regret this…" Vincent muttered to himself as he picked Yuffie up and held her in his arms as he carried her through the blizzard. After a while the blizzard started to clear up, "the blizzard's…finally stopped…" Vincent remarked as he stumbled slightly, "now I can…rest…" Vincent mumbled as he dropped Yuffie and fell to the ground unconscious.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zack, Aerith and Cait Sith were walking up a slope, the slope was fairly steep but not too steep. Zack was slightly ahead with Cait Sith sat on his shoulder, Aerith was behind slightly but not much, Zack noticed that Aerith was falling behind as he turned round and spoke to her. "You doing ok?" Zack asked out of concern for the Cetra.

"I'm fine," Aerith replied as she continued to climb up the slope. Zack had stopped so that Aerith could keep up with him.

"Not too far to go lass," Cait Sith stated encouragingly as the three continued to climb up the slope.

"Cait Sith's right, this slope's not too steep, if we keep going at this pace we'll reach the top in no time." Zack agreed with the cybernetic cat and the drag human and the Cetra continued to climb up the slope. After half an hour they had finally reached the top. "Phew…" Zack sighed with relief, "it took a while but we made it Aerith!" Zack yelled triumphantly, "huh…Aerith…" Zack called out the Cetra's name as he looked round for her. Zack turned round and he saw Aerith lay on the ground unconscious, "come on Aerith…" Zack whispered in the Cetra's ear as he gently shook her. "This isn't the time to fall asleep…come on…just a little further…then we can rest…" Zack grabbed hold of Aerith's hand and he was surprised at how cold it was. "Shit!" Zack cursed as he quickly released Aerith's hand, "I guess the cold got to you huh…"

"What are we gonna do now?" Cait Sith asked as he stared hopefully at the drag human.

"Well, we need to get Aerith to somewhere warm," Zack answered as he picked Aerith up and put her on his back. He opened his left wing and wrapped it round Aerith to keep her warm. "We can rest for a while and continue when she wakes up."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Cait Sith stated as he gave Zack a thumbs up sign. Zack carried on going with his two passengers, for what seemed like an eternity he wandered round the Great Glacier. He had no map so all he was depending on were his instincts and his instincts kept telling him to go north. He wasn't sure why but he knew that north was the best way to go. Zack looked around trying to find a cave or a sheltered area like a tree but alas he found nothing.

"Phew…this is harder than I thought…but we can't give up now, right Cait Sith…" Zack spoke to the cat but he got no answer. "Cait Sith…" Zack called the cat's name as he looked to his right, Cait Sith was rocking back and forth before falling off Zack's shoulder. Fortunately Zack was able to catch the cat with his free arm before he fell to the ground. "Oh no…not you too…" Zack moaned as he looked at the frozen cat in his hand. Zack sighed irritably to himself, "this is gonna be a very long day…" he muttered to himself as he held Cait Sith's waist and carried on walking.

After another half hour or so Zack started to lag from all the walking he was doing, "phew…this is hard work…" Zack uttered to himself, never the less he carried on going, he had to find shelter if he was to get Aerith and Cait Sith warm again. "Don't worry guys," Zack reassured his unconscious team mates. "I'll find us shelter…is it cold out here or is it me…" Zack suddenly asked himself, he stopped suddenly as he felt a biting chill. "Oh no…" Zack moaned as he began to shiver. "I've been out here for so long that the cold is starting to get to me…" Zack collapsed to his knees, "I guess…I should just…sleep here…for a while…" Zack muttered weakly as he fell to the floor unconscious still managing to hold on to Aerith and Cait Sith.

* * *

A few hours later Zack woke up to find himself in a bed, he looked to his left and saw Aerith lay next to him. Zack smiled when he saw the Cetra. "It's so warm here…" Zack placed his arms behind his head, "I don't want to get out of this bed…"

"Uuuuuuuhhhh…" Aerith moaned as she began to stir, she opened her eyes and she saw Zack. "Zack…" Aerith uttered as she saw the drag human in the bed next to her. Aerith looked around her to see that they were in a strange room. "Where are we?" She asked.

"So you're awake," A voice suddenly spoke up, Zack and Aerith looked for the source of the voice and they saw an elderly man stood at the door leaning on a cane. "You collapsed at the Great Glacier," the man informed the two, "it's a miracle you're alright."

"Who are you?" Zack asked not taking his eyes off the man.

"My name is Holzoff," The man answered, he smiled warmly at Zack and Aerith as he walked up to them. "I've been living here for 20 years now."

"Where are our friends?" Aerith asked the kind old man.

"Don't worry," Holzoff reassured them, "your friends are safe. They regained consciousness not long before you did. They're currently in the lounge waiting for you."

"Our friends are here!" Aerith squealed with excitement at the thought of seeing her friends again.

Holzoff nodded, "yes, they said that you were all heading north." He informed the two.

"That's right," Zack stated.

"In that case, why don't you come to the lounge so you can hear my story." Holzoff offered, "Also I'm sure you'll be glad to see your friends again."

"Thanks," Zack replied gratefully as he and Aerith got out of the bed and followed Holzoff to the lounge where they saw their friends waiting for them. "Guys!" Zack yelled excitedly as he ran into the room and hugged each one of his friends in turn. "Am I glad to see you!"

"We're glad to see you too," Cloud stated as he gave Zack an amused smile.

"Yeah…but don't be huggin' us again," Cid added, "don't wanna give folk the wrong impression."

"Just ignore him," Tifa stated as she scowled at Cid. "He's just sore because he hasn't had a cigarette for a while."

"That's because I still can't find ma fuckin' lighter!" Cid snapped at Tifa.

Holzoff laughed, "my, quite the reunion," he remarked as he slowly walked into the room. "Why don't you make yourselves more comfortable?" He offered as everyone sat down and made themselves comfortable, Holzoff made cups of tea for everyone and handed them round. The group were gathered round Holzoff holding their cups of tea. "You ever hear of those who challenged the cliffs?" Holzoff asked, everyone shook their heads so Holzoff continued.

"There's an old legend that says something fell from the sky here a long time ago." That's what's supposed to have pushed the land up and formed this cliff." Holzoff explained as the group stared eagerly at him, "30 Years ago, Yamski and I took this cliff on to see what was on the other side. But, we weren't prepared for it. We did expect the temperature to be low but...On that cliff, there's always a biting cold wind. The cold air lowers your body temperature." Holzoff sighed as he turned away from the group.

"Yamski was below me…he cut his own rope…and I didn't even notice…" Holzoff stated sadly as he turned back round to face the group. "Ever since then, I've settled here... continuing to challenge the cliff, and provide warning and shelter to my fellow climbers." Holzoff continued "If you're going to climb the cliff, there's two precautions you'll need to take." Holzoff advised as he gave the group a serious stare "First, check your route..." Holzoff stated as he held one finger up, "it's hard to find because of all the snow. Second," Holzoff held two fingers up as he gave the group his second piece of advice, "once you get to a ledge, make sure you warm yourselves up. Understand?" He asked as he looked round the group.

"We understand," Cloud stated as the group nodded in agreement.

"Good," the man replied as he smiled again at the group. "Well, you all used up a lot of energy to get up here, why don't you all rest for the night and you can climb the cliff tomorrow," the man kindly offered.

"We wouldn't want to trouble you," Aerith stated politely but the man politely brushed Aerith's concern to the side.

"It's no trouble at all," Holzoff stated kindly. "I actually enjoy the company, make yourselves at home."

"Thanks," Cloud replied gratefully, "we really appreciate this."

"Anytime," Holzoff responded and he left the lounge, after a while everyone began to settle down and it wasn't long before they all drifted off to sleep in nice, warm beds out of the cold.

The next morning Zack woke up to find that Aerith had gone, "huh…" Zack uttered as he looked round for Aerith, "where did she go?" Zack got out of bed and put his shirt and boots on before leaving the bedroom, he saw Holzoff in the kitchen making a cup of tea. "Have you seen Aerith and the others?" Zack asked the man.

"Oh morning," Holzoff stated when he saw Zack, "sleep well…"

"Yeah…" Zack answered as he stretched himself, "the best' night's sleep I've had for a while."

"I'm glad to hear that," Holzoff replied kindly as the water in the kettle boiled, "your friend's are outside waiting for you." Holzoff informed the drag human as he poured the boiling water into a cup and began adding a teabag to it. "The blond haired fellow said that he wanted to climb the cliff by nightfall, you'd better get a move on."

"Thanks," Zack replied gratefully as he nodded to the man before walking out of the house to find that everyone was already there waiting for him.

"Took yer damn time!" Barret snapped at Zack, "we're freezin' our asses off here!"

"Sorry," Zack apologised as he ruffled his hair, Aerith approached him. "Why didn't you wake me?" Zack questioned as he looked at Aerith.

"Well, you looked so peaceful lying there," Aerith answered as she circled her finger round on Zack's chest, "I didn't want to disturb you."

"It's ok, I'm here now," Zack looked up at the cliff. "Wow…that mountain is huge."

"Zack's right," Barret agreed with the drag human as he too looked up at the mountain. "Makes ya think doesn't it?"

"What do you mean?" Tifa asked as she walked up to Barret.

"Seein' a place like this," Barret answered as he pointed at the mountain. "makes you realize how awesome nature is, but, if anyone ever told me to live here, I'd tell them to... you know..." Barret explained, "I tell you one thing though. If I did have to live here I'd change things around 'n' make it better. I guess the total opposite of this would be... Midgar. When you think of it that way, Shinra don't seem so bad..." Barret looked round at all his friend's before he balled his hand into a fist and shook it in the air, "!" Barret yelled angrily as he continued to shake his fist. "What the hell am I sayin'? The Shinra, not bad!"

"Hey Barret, are you sure you're ok?" Zack asked out of concern for the man.

"Yeah," Barret answered, "I'm fine."

"Good," Cloud replied as he stepped forwards, "come on, we better start climbing, I want to get to the top before nightfall." Cloud walked towards the mountain and the group followed, within five minutes they were already climbing the mountain. Red of course was way up in front, with Cloud, Tifa, Vincent and Yuffie not to far behind. Barret and Cid were below them and Zack, Cait Sith, (who was currently sitting on Zack's back) and Aerith were at the bottom, of course with his drag human abilities Zack would've been more than capable of quickly scaling the mountain. However he decided to stay back to keep Aerith company and to help her if she needed help. After a while the group reached a cave, when they entered it they saw much to their amazement that the cave walls were made entirely of crystal.

"It's so beautiful," Aerith stated admiringly as she touched the wall nearest to her.

"Yeah, it sure is somethin'," Zack agreed as he too looked round, "but we don't have time to sightsee."

"I know…" Aerith sighed, she suddenly shivered. "I feel so cold."

"Here, let me help," Zack offered as he took Aerith's hands in both of his. The heat from his hands went into Aerith's warming them up. "Is that better?" Zack asked.

Aerith nodded, "yeah," she answered as she smiled at the drag human. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Zack replied, "come on, we better keep up with the others." Zack stated as he and Aerith ran after the others, the group soon found themselves outside again and began to climb the next part of the mountain.

"Whoa!" Cait Sith yelled as he held on to Zack for dear life, "do you mind going a bit slower?" Cait Sith called up to Zack, "it's a bit bumpy here!"

"I'm going as gently as I can Cait Sith!" Zack answered as he continued to climb digging his claws into the cliff face. "If I go any slower we'll fall behind." The group continued to climb and ended up in another cave, the group traversed through the cave breaking icicles to form stepping stones so they could reach the exit of the cave.

The group climbed higher up the mountain until they entered a third cave filled with green as the group walked through the cave a huddled up cloaked figure slowly approached them. "It's another one of those clones!" Zack exclaimed as he pointed to the huddled mass in front of the group.

"Ugh…errgaahh!" The cloaked man moaned weakly as he collapsed to the ground.

"Ewwww…gross!" Yuffie yelled as she stared at the man on the floor, "what happened to it?"

Cloud knelt down beside the man and placed his fingers on the man's neck to check for a pulse, "there's no pulse," Cloud stated as he shook his head sadly and stood up. "He's dead."

"Goddammit!" Cid cursed at the top of his lungs, "aren't there any healthy people in this godforsaken mountain?"

Before anyone could answer a loud roar echoed through the cave as the cave violently shook. "What's happening?" Tifa yelled as she tried to balance herself, the group just about managed to stay on their feet when a giant two head dragon approached them.

"That's a big mother fucker!" Cid yelled as both dragon heads roared, it advanced towards the group and one of the heads snapped at Cid, but the pilot leapt to the side just in time. "Shit!" Cid yelled as he took his spear out and stood up, "we better take this thing out before we enter the mouth and come out as a big pile of shit!"

"Cid…TMI!" Cloud yelled at Cid but nevertheless he had his sword ready, everyone else followed suit and withdrew their weapons. Cloud, Zack (Cait Sith was still on his back), Tifa, Cid, Red and Yuffie all charged at the two headed beast while Aerith, Barret and Vincent stayed back to shoot the two headed dragon from a distance or to heal if needed.

The two heads thrust themselves forwards as they breathed fire and ice simultaneously, the group dodged out of the way. Zack ducked down and Yuffie ran up and planted her feet into Zack's back before leaping off him and throwing her shuriken at the two headed dragon, the shuriken hit both heads in the face causing them both to screech in pain. Yuffie back flipped in midair as she caught her shuriken and landed perfectly on the ground.

Tifa ran up to the two headed beast and began performing a vicious combo of punches and kicks on the heads before the dragon swiped its mighty claws at Tifa knocking her to the side. Cloud's sword glowed with energy and he slammed his sword into the ground to create a beam from his blade which struck both the heads. Red charged at the dragon, the dragon slammed its tail down to crush red but he was too quick for it and leapt up clawing at one head before leaping on to the other head and clawing that one.

Vincent and Barret shot a barrage of bullets at the beast as Aerith used spells on it, the dragon staggered back stunned. Zack saw his chance and charged at the monster, by then it had pulled itself together and the heads breathed fire and ice again. Zack dodged the two breaths and leapt onto the ice breathing head, however the fire breathing head started snapping at him. Zack swung his tail round and the open spear end struck the fire breathing head in the eye blinding it in that eye. The dragon head roared in pain as it shook itself, blood oozed out of its injured eye. Zack took a deep breath and an orange ball formed in his mouth before he breathed a jet of flames right onto the ice breathing head. The head roared and screamed in pain as the flames began to burn the flesh off its face, after about a minute all that was left of the dragon head was a skull and the skeletal head fell limp and lifeless.

The fire breathing head sensed the death of its other head and it roared angrily as it snapped at Zack and trapped him in its jaws. "Zack!" Aerith screamed watching in horror as the dragon head reared up intending to swallow Zack whole.

However the dragon head winced as it felt a sharp pain in its mouth, a few seconds later the dragon's jaws were forced open to reveal Zack holding the dragon's jaws apart with his arms and legs. "Don't ya know that junk food is bad for ya?" Zack yelled mockingly at the dragon as he leapt out of the dragon's mouth and back flipped out of the way as the dragon's jaws snapped shut again, Zack landed perfectly on the ground and dodged out of the way as the dragon swept its tail round aiming to whack him.

Cid sighed as he took a stick of dynamite out of his pocket and ran at the dragon, the dragon head breathed fire at Cid, the pilot ducked down but held the stick of dynamite up and the flames lit the fuse of the dynamite. Cid leapt into the air, the dragon head snapped at him but he dodged out of the way. "You wanna eat somethin', eat this!" Cid yelled as he threw the dynamite stick into the dragon's mouth, Cid landed on the ground, "fire in the hole!" He yelled as he ran away from the dragon, everyone ducked down as the dynamite exploded blowing the head clean off. The body fell to the ground lifeless and the head landed next to the body, the group stood up again and stared at Cid. "What?" The pilot asked as he looked round at everyone.

"Cid…there's such a thing as overkill…" Zack stated as Cid scowled at him.

"So was torchin' that dragon's face!" Cid retorted.

"Cid's right," Aerith agreed with the pilot as hugged Zack, "you were almost eaten."

"I'd never let myself be eaten," Zack reassured Aerith.

"Good," Aerith replied as she released Zack and jabbed her finger into the drag human's chest. "I almost lost you once."

"Don't worry," Zack continued to reassure Aerith, "I got out of it ok. Besides, we should get going now." The group stepped over the charred and mangled body of the dragon and found themselves outside again. They climbed up the final part of the mountain and as they dragged themselves up they found themselves standing at the edge of a huge crater, in the centre of the crater was a series of green coloured whirlwinds.

Without a word Cloud slowly walked down the side of the crater, the group followed him. "A crater…" Cloud uttered as the group continued to make their way down the side of the crater. "Something fell from the sky here…leaving a scar on the Planet."

The group finally reached the bottom of the crater and were stood outside the vast maze of whirlwinds, Aerith closed her eyes as she felt the energy from the whirlwinds. "The Planet's energy…" Aerith uttered, still with her eyes closed. "It's gathering here, this is the wound from all those years ago…" Aerith opened her eyes and looked at the group. "The Planet has been gathering some of the energy here so it could heal the wound, that's why the snow never melts here."

"But Sephiroth is stealing all that energy," Zack stated sadly as he stared at the green whirlwinds. "He's using that energy to summon Meteor, if he succeeds, the wound created would be much bigger."

"That's why we have to get the Black Materia back no matter what the cost," Cloud reminded the group of their goal as he stepped forwards. "We can't let him summon Meteor." The group carried on going until they reached an area completely covered with white mist.

"You're going to settle things with Sephiroth, huh?" Tifa asked Cloud as she gave him a nervous glance, half knowing the answer. Cloud stopped and turned round to face Tifa, he nodded his head but Tifa turned away from him. "I too have lost many things because of Sephiroth," Tifa stated sadly, she didn't have to go on everyone knew that she was talking about Nibelheim and her family and friends.

"Then I'll defeat him for both of us," Cloud reassured Tifa as he took hold of her hand. Tifa smiled slightly and Cloud smiled back. "Let's go," Cloud finally said and the group wandered through the mist and ended up in a rocky area.

The group saw a black cloaked figure walking towards the edge of the cliff, "this is just fuckin' weird!" Cid cursed loudly as the cloaked figure continued to stagger towards the cliff edge.

"These things are all over the place," Yuffie added, "and they're weirding me out…"

"Yuffie, a rubber spider on the floor weirds you out," Zack stated as he grinned at Yuffie. The group watched in horror as the cloaked man walked off the edge of the cliff.

"Did it just…" Aerith started as she covered her mouth with her hands.

"Yeah," Zack answered calmly as he wrapped his arm round Aerith's waist.

Aerith looked up at Zack, "how can you be so calm about something like this?" She asked the drag human in a small voice.

"When you've seen as many horrific things as I have, you learn to be calm," Zack answered, Aerith was about to respond when a whirring sound could be heard. "Is that…an engine…" Zack asked as the group looked up at the sky to see a large airship flying overhead.

* * *

Inside the airship Rufus and Scarlet were stood at the front window looking out at the surrounding land while Heidegger was stood behind them. "So, I've finally found you," Rufus stated as he continued to look out of the window.

"Kya, ha, ha!" Scarlet laughed loudly and evilly, "ha, ha, ha….hah…this is incredible!" Scarlet finally managed to exclaim after she got over her fit of evil laughter and she looked back at Heidegger.

Heidegger laughed in his typical fashion, "so, this is the Promised Land that the President has been searching for?" Heidegger questioned in a booming voice.

Rufus turned round and stared at Heidegger, "but, I'll be the one who gets it," Rufus stated coldly before turning back round to look at the window again. "Sorry old man," Rufus apologised quietly.

"Heh, heh, heh…" Hojo could be heard laughing at the back of the bridge, "that land is no one's," Hojo stated in his usual high pitched voice as he walked towards Rufus. "It's where the reunion will take place…" Hojo explained excitedly as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation, "they will all gather here…I wonder if I will see…Sephiroth?" Hojo asked himself as he laughed again.

* * *

Back in the rocky canyon the airship flew over the group and out of sight and the whirring of the engine faded into silence again. The group was about to continue when Aerith saw something glow out of the corner of her eye, "huh…" Aerith uttered as she walked towards the glow.

Zack saw Aerith walk off, "Aerith…" he called out the Cetra's name but she wasn't listening, she approached the source of the glow and knelt down to see a piece of red materia nestled behind a rock.

"Summon materia…" Aerith whispered, she was about to reach out and grab it when one of the summon materia flew out of her bag and hovered next to the other red materia. "Odd…" Aerith whispered as she saw the strange phenomenon, she looked right into the floating materia's core and she instantly recognised which one it was. "Bahamut…" Aerith uttered the monster's name, the materia let out a deep growl as a silhouette of Bahamut rose out of the materia. The second materia floated up and another silhouette rose out of it, the two silhouettes moved closer together and danced round each other until they fused together to create an entirely new entity. The new entity was a red coloured dragon with four wings on its back and a more decorative headdress, Aerith stared in awe at this new and magnificent beast. The dragon looked at Aerith and nodded before disappearing into the new materia, the old materia disappeared. The new materia then dropped to the ground and Aerith picked it up, "hmmm…an entirely new summon…" Aerith uttered as she stared deeply into the new materia. "Hmmm…I think I'll call you…Neo Bahamut," Aerith named the new summon as she put it into her bag. (**A/N, yes the summon that I just described was Neo Bahamut. I just didn't think it made much sense for their to be three Bahamuts so I decided for Bahamut to get an upgrade every once in a while. I'll probably do the same for Bahamut Zero.**)

Aerith stood up and she rejoined the group, the group left the rocky area and were stood in front of a path stretching across an abyss, green whirlwinds dashed across the path at regular intervals. Zack took a deep breath as he slowly traversed the path. "Zack…what are you doing?" Aerith called out to the drag human.

"I'm gonna try and get across," Zack answered.

"Are ye off yer rocker?" Cait Sith asked as he looked up at Zack from his position on the drag human's shoulder.

"As long as we move when the winds are calm, we should have no problem," Zack stated as he walked further along the path, being incredibly careful not to cross when the whirlwinds appeared. He and Cait Sith were safely on the other side. "Come on!" Zack called out his friends and one by one they all traversed across the windy path, after a while everyone was on the other side and they were able to continue.

The group stood at the bottom of a windy path which seemed to lead upwards, several more black cloaked men trudged up the slope in single file. However some of the cloaked men collapsed from exhaustion while others walked off the cliffs to their deaths. The group followed the cloaked men who were able to stay on the path, when the group reached the end of the path they entered an area where there was earth for miles around. The group took a few steps forward and they saw Sephiroth blocking their path. "This is the end for all of you," Sephiroth stated in his usual manner, he had his back to the group and he didn't turn to face them.

Two black cloaked men walked passed the group and over to Sephiroth, they knelt down beside him and bowed to him. Feeling disgusted by this Sephiroth took out his sword and with one mighty swing he impaled the two men on to it. With another swing of his sword the two men were thrown over the sides of the cliff, one man hit the sharp rocks as he and his comrade fell into the dark abyss. The group just stared in shock, "Sephiroth!" Cloud and Zack yelled in unison as the two ran up to confront the man, however Sephiroth didn't turn round to look at them.

"This is the end!" Sephiroth repeated a little louder that time, "the end of this body's usefulness!" Sephiroth continued as he gestured to his body.

Zack and Cloud just gave Sephiroth a confused stare, "what do you mean, the end of this body's usefulness?" Zack questioned as he took a step closer to Sephiroth, "what is it you want? What are you trying to achieve by all this?"

Sephiroth turned his head slightly so that he was glancing at the ex SOLDIER and the drag human from his shoulder, his green eyes flashed coldly. "Humph…" Sephiroth huffed as he disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

"Damn it!" Zack yelled as he kicked the ground, "not again!" The group frantically looked round for Sephiroth but he was nowhere to be found.

"He's disappeared…" Cloud finally stated, like Zack he was frustrated at Sephiroth's disappearing act.

"But, he could still be around," Aerith stated in a worried tone as she crept close to Zack. "we should be careful."

The group looked at the spot where Sephiroth was stood a few moments ago to find that there were two clouds of smoke there. "Our purpose is to deliver the Black Materia to our master!" Sephiroth's voice echoed throughout the entire area.

"Our…" Cloud uttered as he stared blankly at the clouds of smoke.

"Purpose…" Zack uttered just as blankly.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Barret yelled loudly hoping to snap Cloud and Zack out of it, "don't you two dare go insane on us!" Barret threatened.

"Those who carry Jenova cells!" Sephiroth's voice spoke up again.

"Jenova cells…" Zack uttered.

"Master…" Cloud muttered still not taking his eyes off the spot where Sephiroth was stood. "Of course…Sephiroth…" A high pitched screech like sound pierced Zack and Cloud's ears and they fell to their knees holding their aching ears as the sound continued to pierce through them like nails on a chalkboard.

Sephiroth reappeared in a flash of light, he was hovering above the group and his sword was drawn. He grinned as he descended towards the group, Zack came to his senses just in time and he sensed that Sephiroth was above them. "Everyone move out of the way!" Zack warned as the group moved quickly out of the way, Sephiroth's sword stabbed into the ground and Sephiroth was kneeling down still holding on to the sword. "What the hell are you playing at Sephiroth?" Zack demanded as the group stared at the kneeling man.

Sephiroth laughed, he took his sword out of the ground and stood up before turning round and looking at the group, particularly Aerith. "You got lucky Cetra," Sephiroth stated calmly, "but if you try to get in the way of my plans again I will kill you."

"Not if I can help it!" Zack yelled at Sephiroth as he stepped in front of Aerith, "you'll have to kill me first!"

Sephiroth smirked at the drag human, "that can be arranged," he stated evilly before disappearing again leaving a huddled form in his wake.

The form stood up to reveal JENOVA, "this mother fucker again?" Cid cursed loudly as the group readied their weapons, "these things just don't quit!" Cid ran and jumped at JENOVA intending to impale it on his spear but JENOVA merely lifted up its left tentacle and swung it round hitting Cid in the face and knocking him to the ground, Cid rolled out of the way as JENOVA slammed its tentacle into the ground where Cid was, aiming to crush him.

Barret ran at JENOVA and unloaded bullet after bullet after bullet into its torso. JENOVA flinched with each hit, Barret then loaded a grenade into his gun arm and fired it at JENOVA, the grenade exploded up on impact and caused extensive damage to JENOVA. However when the dust settled Barret was shocked to discover that JENOVA's wounds were regenerating. "Shit!" Barret cursed, JENOVA glared at the man and got its revenge by shooting a jet of flames at him. Barret hit the ground and the fire went straight over his head.

Zack, Red and Vincent nodded and all three of them charged at JENOVA at the same time. JENOVA shot a triple stream of fire at the three but they managed to easily dodge it. Red used his power to summon an earthquake under JENOVA while Zack and Vincent leapt up on to JENOVA, Vincent took his gun out and began unloading bullets into various areas of JENOVA's body while avoiding JENOVA's attacks. Zack meanwhile used his drag human strength to snap JENOVA's tentacle off before breathing ice on the stump of it completely freezing the area and preventing the tentacle from regenerating. Cloud then performed Braver on JENOVA's remaining tentacle, Zack leapt to JENOVA's other side and breathed ice on the area to prevent that tentacle from growing back.

JENOVA wriggled and wreathed in pain shaking its attackers off it causing them to fall to the ground, with both its tentacles now gone thanks to Zack's ice breath JENOVA resorted to using its secret weapon. JENOVA used a powerful fire spell engulfing the whole area in flames, when the flames disappeared the group were surprisingly unharmed and each were surrounded by a glowing, golden aura. Aerith who had had her eyes shut opened them and smiled as her spell was complete. (**A/N, this is one of Aerith's limits known as Planet Protector, it surrounds the characters with a golden aura and makes them temporarily invulnerable.**) "Thanks Aerith," the whole group thanked their friend as they realised that Aerith's spell had protected them from JENOVA's attack.

JENOVA tried to cast another spell at the group but it had used up all of its magic power in that one spell and was no completely helpless. Vincent noticed this and he suddenly had an idea, he looked over at Zack who seemed to be thinking the same thing he was. Zack remembered what he had learned in one of his training sessions with Vincent. (**A/N, Zack has had more training sessions with Vincent but I haven't put them in due to the fact that I didn't want to make the chapters even longer, but I will refer to them briefly when Zack uses a new ability.**) "If you really focus your mind, you can make your elemental breaths much more powerful and they may even take on a form for a brief moment." Vincent's voice echoed in Zack's head. Zack nodded again and focused his mind as frost formed in his mouth, Zack's head suddenly snapped back as a giant stream of ice burst out of the drag human's mouth. The ice stream twisted and turned as Zack suddenly forced his forwards firing the ice at JENOVA, as the ice made its way to JENOVA a dragon's head formed out of it and was connected to a long serpentine body, which flowed down to a tail. Wings and claws emerged out of the ice dragon, the ice dragon roared as it smashed into JENOVA completely freezing it and causing the ice dragon to dissolve on impact. Cloud walked up to JENOVA's frozen body and struck it with his sword causing JENOVA to shatter into a million pieces and all that was left behind was a small black orb.

Cloud looked down at the orb as the group walked up to him, "Jenova's cells…" he whispered remembering what Sephiroth had said. "So that's what this is all about…"

"The Jenova Reunion…" Zack finished Cloud's sentence, "Jenova…not Sephiroth…"

"So, all this time, we weren't after Sephiroth?" Tifa questioned in a worried tone.

"Don't none of this bull shit make sense?" Barret grumbled.

Cloud shook his head, "I'll explain later, right now, the only thing I can think about is defeating Sephiroth."

"But Sephiroth is…" Aerith started.

"He's here," Zack cut in as he looked at the Cetra. "The real Sephiroth isn't too far from here."

"It's incredibly wicked and cruel," Cloud added as he looked at the group. "But it's releasing a powerfully strong will from deep inside the Planet's wound." Cloud bent down and picked the black orb up, "the Black Materia is back in our hands," Cloud stated triumphantly as he showed the group the black orb. "Now all we have to do is defeat Sephiroth and that will be the end of it."

"You think it's that easy?" Red questioned.

"What other choice do we have?" Aerith asked by way of answering, "either way, if we're to go any further we can't take the Black Materia with us," Aerith continued as she pointed at the Black Materia.

"Which means someone has to stay here and hold on to it," Cloud stated, "Aerith, can you hold on to the Black Materia for me?" Cloud asked as he stared hopefully at the Cetra and held the Black Materia out to her.

Aerith stared at the Black Materia and she slowly reached out to it, her hand was right over the small orb, shaking violently as the Cetra sensed the dark power emanating from the Black Materia. "I…I can't…" Aerith stammered in a frightened tone as she quickly pulled her hand away, "There's so much dark power coming from that Materia…I can't hold on to it…I'm too afraid…"

"But we need you to hold on to it," Cloud stated as he held the Black Materia out to Aerith again.

"Come on Cloud, have a heart," Zack admonished Cloud as he wrapped his arm round Aerith to comfort her. "Aerith's afraid of that thing, you shouldn't force her to hold it if she doesn't want to."

"Fine…" Cloud sighed, "Barret…will you take care of it…" Cloud asked the man with the gun arm as he held the Black Materia out to him.

"No way!" Barret yelled as he staggered away from it, "I ain't holdin' that thing! It's much too dangerous!"

"Cid…" Cloud asked the pilot.

"No fuckin' way!" Cid yelled, "I ain't holdin' somethin' that can single handedly destroy this Planet!"

"Yuffie…" Cloud asked desperately as he gave the ninja a hopeful look.

"I may be a Materia nut, but I'm not stupid!" Yuffie shouted as she cast a frightened look at the Black Materia.

"I beg to differ…" Zack muttered under his breath, fortunately Yuffie didn't hear him.

"Would someone please just hold on to the Black Materia?" Cloud yelled in frustration as he looked at everyone.

"I'll take it," Zack volunteered as everyone stared at him in shock.

"Are you sure?" Red asked the drag human, "it's a big responsibility."

"I know," Zack answered, "but no one else is volunteering so…" Cloud held the Black Materia out to Zack, Zack slowly reached out and his hand hovered above the Black Materia hesitating slightly before eventually grabbing it.

"We're counting on you Zack," Cloud stated as he nodded to the drag human. "Don't give it to anyone."

"I won't, and don't worry, I'll keep it safe." Zack reassured the ex SOLDIER, "you guys go on ahead."

"Zack are you…" Aerith started.

"Don't worry about me," Zack reassured the Cetra as he stroked the side of her face with his free hand. "I'll be fine, you go with the others, you too Cait Sith," Zack spoke to the robotic cat on his shoulder.

"He can ride on my back," Red offered as he stood near Zack. Cait Sith and Zack looked at each other before nodding and Cait Sith jumped off Zack's shoulder and landed on Red's back.

"Ok, let's go." Cloud commanded as everyone except Zack continued along the path, Zack meanwhile opened his wings and flew up before landing on an alcove jutting out of one of the cliffs at the side. Zack sat down and made himself more comfortable before closing his eyes.

Meanwhile Cloud and the others found themselves at another windy path, however the whirlwinds were stronger and much more frequent this time round. However the group managed to make their way across the path and were about to continue when they found themselves completely surround by white. "What is this? What happened?" Tifa asked in a panicked tone as she looked all around her confused.

"Calm down Tifa," Cloud spoke to the dark haired woman in an effort to calm her down. "Sephiroth is near, anything could happen."

The endless white eventually faded and the group found themselves in Nibelheim, "this is…Nibelheim…" Aerith uttered as she looked round the town.

"I don't understand, why Nibelheim?" Tifa questioned, confused at how they ended up in the town.

"What the fuck is goin' on here?" Cid cursed, he too couldn't understand it.

"This is an illusion Sephiroth made up," Cloud answered as he sadly shook his head. "He's trying to confuse us, it'll be alright as long as we know it was an illusion, there's nothing to be afraid" Cloud reassured his friends. "Come on, let's keep going."

"You're right," Tifa agreed with Cloud and the group carried on walking.

"Look, there's someone coming!" Aerith exclaimed as she pointed to the entrance of Nibelheim, everyone turned round to look and they moved to the side as Sephiroth reached the gate of Nibelheim.

"Alright, let's go!" Sephiroth called out to seemingly invisible people as he walked further into town not noticing Cloud and the others. Eventually Sephiroth was followed by two Shinra guards and a young man with black spiky hair wearing a dark purple SOLDIER uniform and carrying a giant sword on his back.

"_Zack…_" Aerith thought to herself as she looked at the black haired man and it reminded her of what Zack looked like before all those experiments. "_Is this…is this what really happened at Nibelheim?_"

"What the hell?" Cid yelled as he stared at the black haired man not realising who it was. "Cloud's not here."

"I don't get it!" Yuffie also yelled in frustration, "You told us you were in Nibelheim Cloud!"

"Stop…Sephiroth…" Tifa whispered in a frightened tone as she shook her head.

"This is so stupid…" Cloud scoffed as he shrugged his shoulders not realising who the black haired man really was.

Sephiroth laughed and covered his mouth, after a while the scene flashed white and everything except the group disappeared. "Perhaps now would be a good time to continue," Red stated, reminding the group of what they needed to do.

"Cloud, it's just an illusion…don't worry about it," Tifa tried to reassure her friend even though she was unsure of her own words. However, before the group had chance to continue they were caught in another white flash.

"What's next?" Cloud asked as he dreaded what he might see.

"Stop it already!" Tifa yelled, she too was frightened.

"This is terrible!" Aerith shouted, she was also afraid of what she might see.

The white eventually faded to reveal Nibelheim in flames, "this is what actually happened five years ago," Cloud stated as he stared into the flames which didn't have any effect on the group, but it brought back so many painful memories of that day. "But…it's probably not gonna be me that comes out of the Shinra Mansion, he's gonna try and show us another stupid illusion," Cloud continued to explain in frustration as the mansion door was swung open and the black haired man ran out of it. "See what I tell ya," Cloud stated triumphantly as the group watched the black haired man jump over some flames, his sword was drawn and he saw an old man tending to a person who was injured in the fire.

"Master Zanagan…" Tifa uttered as she instantly recognised the old man.

"Hey, it's you!" Zanagan called out to the black haired man, "you're still sane, right?" He asked as the black haired man nodded. "Then come over here and help me!" Zanagan demanded as the black haired man approached him.

"I don't want to…watch this…" Tifa stammered as she witnessed this horrible scene, "Cloud…don't watch…"

The group continued to watch as the black haired man turned round and stared sadly at the flames that had engulfed the town, he sadly shook his head. "I'll check this house, you check that one over there!" Zanagan ordered as he ran into the inn.

"What's wrong Tifa?" Cloud asked the dark haired woman, his voice was filled with concern. "I told you before, right? As long as we know it's just an illusion, there's no need to be scared."

The scene faded to white again and when the white faded the group found themselves even closer to the flames. Aerith spotted an injured person lying near the inn and she ran over and knelt down beside them, "are you ok?" Aerith asked the person but there was no response. "This is…this isn't real…" Aerith uttered sadly as she stood up and walked back to the group.

"Sephiroth, I know you're listening!" Cloud yelled to no one in particular as he slowly began to understand why he was seeing all this. "I know what you want to say," Cloud continued as he shook his head. "That I wasn't in Nibelheim five years ago, right?"

The gong of a church bell could be heard and Sephiroth appeared in a flash of white, "I see you finally understand," Sephiroth stated coldly as the group stared at him.

"What you are saying is that you want to confuse me," Cloud retorted, not taking his eyes off Sephiroth. "But…even making me see those things won't affect me," Cloud continued strongly. "I remember it all the heat of the flames…the pain in my body and in my heart!" Cloud ended passionately as he clasped a hand over his chest where his heart was.

These words triggered something in Aerith's mind as she remembered hearing a similar thing. "_I was there! I saw what happened…I watched helplessly as Sephiroth crossed the line between sanity and insanity. I felt the intense heat of the flames and heard the anguished screams of the townspeople…_" Zack's words echoed in Aerith's mind, ever since Zack revealed to her that he was in Nibelheim Aerith began to doubt what Cloud was saying, but she didn't say anything, mainly because it wasn't her place. However, she couldn't help but feel that Cloud was about to learn the harsh truth from his enemy of all people.

"Oh…is that so?" Sephiroth probed as his green eyes stared into Cloud's blue eyes, piercing deep into his soul. "You are just a puppet…you have no heart…and you feel no pain…" Sephiroth continued as the group stared at the silver haired man in shock. "How can there be any meaning in the memory of such a being?" Sephiroth questioned half to himself as he paced round. "What I have shown you, is reality," Sephiroth stated as he gestured the scenery around them. "What you remember, that is the illusion," Sephiroth revealed as he pointed at Cloud.

"What the fuck!" Cid yelled as he stared from both Sephiroth to Cloud.

Cloud merely shrugged and ignored Cid as he walked up to Sephiroth, "do you understand?" Sephiroth questioned as he stared deep into Cloud's eyes again.

"I don't want to understand!" Cloud snapped at Sephiroth before he turned away from him, "but I want to ask you one thing, why…why are you doing this?" Cloud asked in a slightly upset tone.

There was another flash of light and Sephiroth warped himself in front of Cloud and between the others. Startled, Cloud's friends ran to the other side and stood behind Cloud, all of them were staring at Sephiroth. "Ha, ha, ha!" Sephiroth laughed evilly as he raised his arms, "I wanted to take you back to your real self," Sephiroth explained, "the one who gave me the Black Materia that day…who knew that a failed experiment would come in useful…Hojo would just die if he knew…" Sephiroth continued in a mocking tone.

"_Cloud's an…experiment…_" Aerith thought to herself, shocked at what she had heard. "_But for what purpose…did Zack know…this is all messed up…_" Thoughts continued to swirl round in Aerith's head but she could do nothing but stare at Sephiroth and listen to what the evil man had to say.

"Hojo!" Cloud spat the scientist's name as he walked towards Sephiroth again, eager to find out more. "What does he have to do with me?"

"Cloud, some things are best left in the dark…" Vincent warned the ex SOLDIER but Cloud wasn't listening.

Sephiroth sighed as he lowered his arms, still not taking his eyes off Cloud. "Five years ago you were…constructed by Hojo, piece by piece, after Nibelheim was burnt." Sephiroth explained deliberately choosing his words so that Cloud would crack. "A puppet made up of vibrant Jenova cells, her knowledge and the power of Mako. An incomplete Sephiroth clone, not even given a number, that is your reality."

"Sephiroth, please stop this!" Aerith begged the silver haired man, unable to take anymore. "This is cruel!"

"Cloud…don't listen to him!" Tifa added as she walked over to Cloud and placed her hand on her shoulder. "Close your ears! Close your eyes!" Tifa desperately begged Cloud.

"What's wrong Tifa?" Cloud asked as he turned round and looked at the dark haired woman before taking hold of her hand. "I'm not affected by it, I wasn't paying attention to him." Cloud reassured Tifa.

"All that talk about Hojo constructing you was a lie!" Tifa yelled determined not to let the lie get to her, "don't we have our memories together?" Tifa asked as she stared hopefully into Cloud's eyes, "being kids together...starlit nights…"

Sephiroth stared at Tifa in surprise before laughing, "ha, ha, ha! Tifa, why are you so worried and scared by those words?" Sephiroth questioned as he walked towards Cloud and Tifa, "hmmm…shall I show everyone here what's in your heart?" Sephiroth probed as Tifa quickly released Cloud's hand and turned away from him, refusing to answer Sephiroth's question. "Ha, ha, ha!" Sephiroth laughed again, "you look like you're not feeling well."

Sephiroth disappeared from sight and Cloud turned to face Tifa, "Tifa…is Sephiroth right?" Cloud asked as he started to doubt what he believed.

Tifa sighed sadly she didn't answer Cloud as she didn't know what she could say to reassure him, "Cloud…" Tifa eventually whispered the man's name.

"Why are you so scared?" Cloud questioned the dark haired growing increasingly concerned for her. "Don't worry about me, I'm alright, no matter how confused I am, I'll never believe a word Sephiroth says." Cloud stated as he tried to reassure Tifa that what Sephiroth was saying was a lie and he looked down at the ground. "It's true that sometimes I can't figure out who I am," he admitted still looking down at the ground. "There's a lot of things that are muddled up in my memories, but Tifa…" Cloud sighed before speaking again, "but you said 'long time no see Cloud,' right? Those words will always support me, I am the one you grew up with. I'm Cloud of Nibelheim, no matter how much I lose faith in myself, that is the truth." Cloud stated reassuring not only Tifa but himself, though he looked fine on the outside Cloud felt trapped on the inside as bit by bit he felt his sanity leaving him. "That's why you shouldn't be so scared," Cloud continued as he looked back up at Tifa. "No matter what anyone else says to me, it's your attitude that counts…" Cloud encouraged as he placed his hand on Tifa's shoulder.

When Tifa didn't answer Cloud sighed sadly to himself before removing his hand from Tifa's shoulder and turning away from her. Tifa turned back to face Cloud shaking her head, "no, that's not true Cloud…" Tifa finally stated as she stared desperately at his back.

Cloud turned back round to face Tifa at those words, shaking his head frantically as he lifted his arms to his head. "What's not?" Cloud asked desperately as he walked towards Tifa still shaking his head, "Aren't I the same Cloud you grew up with?"

"That's not what I meant…" Tifa replied still in that desperate tone as she tried to get Cloud to listen to her. "I don't know how to say it…Cloud, I need more time…just give me more time…" Tifa cried as she buried her face in her hands.

Cloud stared at Tifa unsure of what to say at this revelation, all he wanted was to hear Tifa say that she'd support him through thick and thin and believe what he had told her. Cloud felt tears burn in his eyes as he felt like someone had taken the rug out from under his feet. There was another flash of white and Sephiroth appeared on the stairs behind the group, everyone turned round to face the silver haired man. "Cloud…don't blame Tifa…" Sephiroth stated calmly as he slowly walked down the steps towards the group. "The ability to change one's looks, voice and words is the power of Jenova…"

"_That's not all Jenova's capable of…_" Aerith thought bitterly as she remembered the video she and Zack had watched back in Icicle Inn.

"Inside of you, Jenova has merged with Tifa's memories, creating you," Sephiroth continued as he kept dealing damaging blows to Cloud's sanity. "Out of Tifa's memory…a boy named Cloud may have just been part of that." Sephiroth finished as he disappeared in another flash of white.

"Cloud…please…don't think right now…" Tifa desperately pleaded with the man.

There was another white flash and Sephiroth appeared right behind Cloud, "ha, ha, ha!" Sephiroth laughed in Cloud's ear. "Think Cloud! Cloud…ha, ha, ha! Oh, excuse me, you never had a name!" Sephiroth mocked.

"You're horrible!" Aerith screamed at the silver haired man, "it's bad enough you want to destroy the world, but playing all these mind games…"

"Mind games…" Sephiroth repeated Aerith's last words, "I'm merely stating the truth."

"Shut up Sephiroth!" Cloud yelled as he turned round and glared at Sephiroth frantically shaking his head.

Sephiroth sighed irritably as he shook his head, "you still don't understand?" Sephiroth questioned as he stared inquisitively at Cloud. "Then…" Sephiroth turned away from the group and laughed evilly, "do you remember the picture that was taken before we headed for Mount Nibel?" Sephiroth asked as he turned round and looked at Tifa, "Tifa, you remember, right?" He asked the dark haired woman as she reluctantly nodded. Sephiroth smiled in a satisfied manner before turning back to Cloud and raising his arms in the air triumphantly. "But there is no way he would know," Sephiroth scoffed as Cloud scowled at him. "Now, what happened to those pictures…" Sephiroth mused mockingly as he pretended to look round for the picture, he eventually found it next to the body of the dead photographer. Sephiroth picked the picture up and looked at it while smirking, "do you want to see it?" Sephiroth asked as he stared at Cloud from the top of the picture. "It turned out pretty good."

"Cloud don't!" Tifa pleaded with Cloud.

Cloud turned to face Tifa and nodded, "I should be in that picture," Cloud reminded her. "Even if I'm not there, don't worry, this is just an illusion that Sephiroth made up." Cloud walked up to Sephiroth and looked at the picture, and where Cloud was supposed to be stood was the black haired man. "Just as I thought…" Cloud stated with a sigh as he nodded, "this picture's a fake, the truth is in my memory." Cloud continued as he placed his hand on his heart as he desperately tried to hold on to his memories that were being pulled apart by Sephiroth. "Five years ago, I came back to Nibelheim to inspect the reactor, I was sixteen…The town hadn't changed at all, what did I do? Oh yeah…I went into Tifa's room, there I…I played the piano, I looked in the drawers," Cloud listed off everything he did in Nibelheim. "I spent the night and went to the reactor in Mount Nibel, I was excited about it…Because that was the first mission after becoming First Class in SOLDIER." Sephiroth laughed again before disappearing, Cloud shook his head suddenly becoming confused at his own version of events. "SOLDIER…First Class…" Cloud uttered as he shook his head more vigorously. "SOLDIER…when did I enter SOLDIER…" Cloud continued to question himself as he held his head with his trembling hands, "how did I join SOLDIER?" Cloud collapsed to his knees and trembled even harder much to the shock and confusion of his friends. "Why…why can't I remember?" Cloud asked in a confused voice as his memories started to blur, before entering the illusion he was so sure about what had happened at Nibelheim, but now he began to doubt his memories as he felt the last of his confidence shatter. Cloud stopped shaking and rose to one knee, "I'm…I'm…" Cloud stammered as he slowly stood up, "that's right," Cloud uttered relieved as it all started to come back to him and he nodded confidently. "I don't have to worry about it because I was…" Cloud started to say but he didn't get chance to finish his sentence as Nibelheim began to fade away and the group found themselves back on the path again.

"Cloud, are you ok?" Tifa asked as she slowly walked up to the blond haired man.

"You really gave us a scare," Aerith added as she sighed with relief.

"I'm ok," Cloud stated as he looked around him and was relieved to find himself back in reality again. "Let's go." Cloud started to walk down the path before anyone else could say anything and his friends followed.

Meanwhile in another area of the whirlwind maze, the Shinra had entered a cave that was made entirely out of crystal. Rufus was stood in the centre of the cavern thinking as Scarlet stood a bit of distance behind him. "This is amazing…" the blonde haired woman uttered in awe as she walked to the centre of the cave before walking to the back wall and looking round in awe. As Scarlet was looking at the wondrous cave, Hojo entered and walked towards Rufus, he looked up at the ceiling and saw a strange tree like structure stretching across the ceiling like a spider's web. Sunlight reflected into the cave from a hole in the ceiling and there was a blue orb right in the centre, glowing slightly as the sun's light reflected on it. "It's all materia!" Scarlet exclaimed excitedly as she placed a hand on the crystal wall.

"The outside is rich with Mako energy," Rufus stated enthusiastically as he looked round the cave. "The inside is a treasure trove of materia, this truly is the Promised Land!" Rufus exclaimed, dollar signs appeared in his eyes as he fantasised about the money he would by make by taking all the Mako from this area and putting the Neo Midgar plan into action.

"There is no such thing as the Promised Land," Hojo stated sceptically, Rufus stared at Hojo in shock as he was snapped back into reality. "It's a legend…an old wives' tale…it's utterly ridiculous…" Hojo continued to rant as he paced round the cavern. "It's…"

"Everything I imagined it to be," Rufus interrupted the scientist as he continued to stare at him. "Isn't it splendid?" Rufus asked enthusiastically as Scarlet nodded her head and Hojo merely stared at Rufus, Rufus sighed as he rolled his eyes. "It is that kind of dullness that makes you a second rate scientist," Rufus stated irritably, Hojo was about to say something in his defence but the ground began to shake and everyone nearly fell over as they tried to keep their balance. "What's happening?" Rufus asked as the ground stopped shaking.

"It's coming from within the wall!" Scarlet yelled urgently as she looked at the wall, "Something's in there, it's moving!" Scarlet continued as she, Rufus and Hojo saw an emerald green eye blink within the wall causing Scarlet to stagger back.

"Weapon…" Hojo mused as he walked closer to the wall to analyse it, "then it really does exist…I never believed in it."

"What does that mean?" Rufus questioned as he walked up to Hojo.

Hojo turned round to face Rufus, "Weapon, monster's created by the Planet," Hojo explained as he took his classes off and cleaned them with his lab coat before putting them back on his face. "It appears when the Planet is in danger, reducing everything to nothingness…" Hojo continued as he rubbed his chin thinking, "That's what it stated in Professor Gast's report."

"I never saw that report," Rufus stated, "Where is it?"

Hojo turned away from Rufus as he searched his pockets and shuffled through some papers before turning round to look at Rufus again. "Here," Hojo answered as he held out a file, "right here."

"You keep a lot of things to yourself," Rufus replied as he gave Hojo a sceptical stare as he took the report from Hojo's hand and read it. Hojo turned back to analyse the crystal wall as the eye blinked again before disappearing.

Zack was still sat on the cliff at the side of the path where the group had fought JENOVA earlier, his back was leaning against the cliff wall and he was throwing the Black Materia up and down. "They've been a long time," Zack stated as he continued to throw the Black Materia up and down, "I hope nothing's happened to them…hmmm…nah…they can take care of themselves…"

Zack reassured himself, he caught the Black Materia a final time before looking at the black orb. "So this thing can summon Meteor huh…" Zack mused as he continued to stare at the Black Materia. "It's hard to believe that so much destruction could come from this tiny little orb, but, I guess size isn't always everything." Zack sighed to himself as boredom began to consume him again, "I'm so bored…I wish the others would hurry up…" Zack looked down and he saw that the path below had disappeared and was replaced by a sea of black. "Huh…" Zack questioned as he rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming, when he opened them again the sea of black was still there. "Ok…" Zack uttered as he opened his wings and hovered down and carefully landed, he didn't fall much to his surprise and he felt solid ground under his feet.

"Zack, you're still here, I'm so glad!" A female voice echoed through out the entire area.

"Huh…" Zack uttered again, he looked in the direction that the group had walked off in earlier and he saw Aerith running up to him. "Aerith…" Zack called out the woman's name as she skidded to a stop in front of him and the path reappeared. "Are you ok?" Zack asked the Cetra, "where's everyone else? Why was it dark just now?" Zack asked 20 questions, he knew he should've given Aerith a chance to answer each one but he was just too confused to wait for an answer.

"I'm fine," Aerith answered, something was a little off about her but Zack didn't notice. "You have to hurry Zack!"

"What's wrong?" Zack asked growing more confused and concerned with Aerith's behaviour.

"Cloud's in trouble!" Aerith informed Zack as she grabbed hold of his hand and squeezed it. "Everyone else is waiting but I ran back to get help, you have to help Zack."

"Cloud's in trouble…" Zack repeated as he stared into Aerith's frightened eyes, "don't worry, I'll help him."

"Thank you Zack," Aerith replied gratefully as she smiled at him. "They're just further up the trail there," Aerith told the drag human as she pointed down the trail.

"Right, I'm on my way." Zack stated, he released Aerith's hand and ran off in the direction Aerith pointed in.

Aerith watched Zack run off and as soon as he disappeared Aerith walked forwards she leaned forwards slightly and placed her hands behind her back. "Tee hee…" She giggled as she grinned to herself, "and remember…" Aerith started to say as she waggled her finger before her body flickered, her chestnut brown hair changed to silver and her pink dress changed to black leather and Sephiroth was stood where Aerith once was. "…The Black Materia…" Sephiroth finished his sentence glad to be speaking in his normal voice again. "That was too easy," Sephiroth congratulated himself before disappearing.

* * *

Back in the crystal cave the ground began to shake again, "Mr President!" Scarlet called out to Rufus as she leaned against the wall again to prevent herself from falling over, "I have a bad feeling about this place!"

"Hmmm…" Rufus mused as he rubbed his chin and looked at the blonde haired woman. "Perhaps we should return to the ship now," he suggested. "We need to prepare for the inspection anyway."

The Shinra kept exploring the cave when the whole area suddenly flashed white and Cloud and the others appeared between Rufus and Scarlet. "Where are we?" Tifa asked as she looked round her surroundings.

"I think we're at the centre of the maze," Aerith answered as she looked round at the crystal walls.

"Where did you come from?" Scarlet demanded as she stared at Cloud and the others in shock.

Cloud stared at Scarlet and shrugged, "I dunno…" he answered obviously confused at how he and his friends had suddenly ended up in this cave when they were walking up the trail. He turned to face Rufus and shook his head, "this place is gonna get rough," Cloud warned the Shinra. "Better leave things to me and get out of here while you still can."

Rufus flipped his hair back with his hand and rolled his eyes as he stared at Cloud, "leave things to you?" He questioned sarcastically. "I don't know what you mean."

Cloud slowly turned away from the group, "this is where the reunion is happening." He explained, still with his back to the group. "Where everything begins and ends."

Everyone just stared at Cloud in shock, "what d'ya mean where everythin' begins and ends?" Barret demanded.

"Cloud!" Tifa called out the blond haired man's name as she walked up to him, however Cloud ignored her.

"Cloud!" Zack's voice could be heard as the drag human came running into the cave and skidded to a stop, "is everyone ok? What happened?" Zack asked urgently as he looked round at everyone.

Cloud looked up and stared at Zack, he didn't move for a while but he held his head tears formed in his eyes as he took a few steps towards the drag human before stopping again. He eventually walked all the way up to Zack, "it's ok Zack," Cloud reassured the drag human as he brushed his tears away. "Do you still have the Black Materia?" Cloud asked.

"Cloud!" Tifa called out to him again, but once more she was ignored.

"Yeah," Zack answered as he reached into his pocket and pulled the Black Materia out of it. "I've been keepin' it warm for ya."

Cloud looked down at the Black Materia his fingers twitched eagerly. "I'll take it from here," Cloud stated, "give me…the Black Materia."

"You can't hear my voice…" Tifa uttered both shocked and upset at the fact that Cloud was ignoring her.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Zack asked as he gave Cloud a sceptical stare, Cloud nodded. "Ok, you can have it, to be honest I was feelin' a little uneasy holding on to that thing." Zack stated as he held the Black Materia out to Cloud.

"No don't!" Tifa yelled desperately as she tried in vain to get Cloud to listen to her, "please…stop Cloud."

"Cloud please listen!" Aerith pleaded, she too tried to get Cloud to listen to reason.

Cloud took the Black Materia from Zack, "thanks," Cloud replied gratefully as he turned away from Zack. "Just leave the rest to me."

"Errr Cloud…" Zack uttered as he stared at the blond haired man, his expression was filled with concern. "What are you gonna do?"

Cloud didn't answer, he walked away from Zack as he walked off he was greeted by another flash of white light and he saw an image of Sephiroth in his mind. "Come on…The Black Materia…" Sephiroth's impatient voice echoed in Cloud's mind.

"Please, just a little while longer," Cloud pleaded with Sephiroth as he walked to the centre of the cave still with his back to the group. "Everyone, thanks for everything, and…I'm sorry…" Cloud apologised, he then turned to face Rufus. "Sorry…" He apologised to everyone in turn before finally looking at Tifa. "Especially you Tifa," Cloud stated sadly as he took hold of Tifa's hand. "I'm really sorry…You've been good to me…I don't know what to say…" Cloud whispered trying hard not to cry, he shook his head sadly. "I never lived up to being 'Cloud'," Cloud confessed as he gently patted Tifa's hand. "Maybe one day you'll meet the real 'Cloud'," Cloud reassured Tifa as he released her hand and turned away from her refusing to look at the sadness in her eyes, he walked over to Hojo.

Tifa held her face and fell to the floor crying her eyes out, Aerith bent down next to the dark haired woman and hugged her. "Ha, ha, ha!" Hojo laughed manically as he witnessed the heartbreaking scene. "This is perfect!" Hojo yelled enthusiastically as he examined Cloud, "it means that my experiment was a complete success! What number were you?" Hojo asked eagerly as he grabbed hold of Cloud's arm and looked at his shoulder, "huh…" Hojo uttered in surprise as he saw that Cloud's shoulder didn't have a number on it. "Where is your tattoo?" The scientist demanded as he released Cloud's arm.

"Professor Hojo…I don't have a number," Cloud answered as he sadly shook his head. "You didn't give me one because you said I was a failed experiment."

Hojo turned away from Cloud in disgust, "what the…" Hojo questioned unable to believe what he was hearing, "you mean…only a failure made it here…"

"Professor…please give me a number…please professor…" Cloud pleaded desperately as he grabbed hold of Hojo's lab coat.

Hojo spun back round to face the ex SOLDIER, "shut up! Miserable failure!" Hojo spat at Cloud, disgusted that one of his failed experiments would dare touch him. Cloud slumped to the floor looking miserable and something inside him snapped as he felt the last of his sanity die.

Hojo merely glared at the broken man on the ground unsure of what to think when a fist suddenly shot out of nowhere and punched Hojo square in the jaw. Hojo turned round to face his attacker and he saw Zack stood behind him massaging his hand. "You bastard!" Zack screamed at Hojo, "how could you play with people's lives like that?" Zack demanded as he glared at Hojo, the scientist just stood there staring at the drag human in shock. "Look at Cloud! Look at Tifa!" Zack continued to yell at Hojo as he pointed at Cloud slumped on the floor and Tifa who was kneeling down, still crying. "You're destroying them!"

"Still temperamental I see," Hojo spat bitterly as he relocated his jaw.

"Oh I'll give you temperamental!" Zack snapped back as he cracked his knuckles and pulled his fist back aiming to punch Hojo again.

"Zack no!" Aerith yelled as she quickly ran up and grabbed hold of Zack's hand. "He isn't worth it!"

Zack growled but he didn't saw anything, he looked into Aerith's eyes and his anger seemed to melt away. Zack lowered his fist causing Hojo to smirk at him, "I'd listen to your girlfriend if I were you, mutant." Hojo retorted, Zack growled again but he didn't do or say anything else as he didn't want to upset Aerith.

However, Zack didn't have time to dwell on his argument as Cloud suddenly rose up into the air and spun round before he shot up into the tree like structure on the ceiling. His body spun round again in midair so that Cloud was upside down and his feet touched one of the branches of the tree like structure. However Cloud seemed to be able to defy gravity as he remained on the branch and didn't fall off, the group looked up in shock. "Who…was that?" Rufus asked in shock as he stared at Cloud for a few more seconds before looking back at Hojo.

"He's a Sephiroth clone I created after the real Sephiroth died five years ago," Hojo answered as he stared inquisitively at Cloud not taking his eyes off the blond haired man. "Jenova cells and Mako, with my knowledge and skills, have been combined with science and nature to bring him to life." Hojo bragged as he tapped his chest with his hand.

"_Cloud's a Sephiroth clone…_" Zack thought to himself, he winced in pain as he had sudden flashes of himself in a lab tube filled with a green substance and a blond haired man in the tube next to him. "_Me and Cloud went through the same treatment…that must make me a Sephiroth clone too…_" Thoughts continued to swirl round in his mind, "_but…why wasn't I affected? Could it be…is it possible that I can't be controlled like the others? Does this mean, I'm not gonna go insane…_" Zack managed to get himself back under control and he looked up at the tree like structure again and let Hojo's droning voice buzz in his ears.

"I'm not wild about the failure part," Hojo droned on as he looked away from Cloud and began to pace round the cave. "But the Jenova reunion theory has been proven to be correct."

"Jenova reunion…" Aerith uttered unable to believe what she was hearing, "you mean…all those men in black capes were part of that too…"

Hojo nodded, "even if Jenova's body is dismembered, it will eventually become one again. That's what is meant by the Jenova reunion," Hojo continued to explain as everyone stared at him in shock.

"Jenova's cells…" Zack whispered, "That's what all this is about…Jenova's cells coming together?"

"I have been waiting for the reunion to start!" Hojo exclaimed excitedly as he stopped near Zack and gave the drag human such a sinister grin that it made his skin crawl just to look at it. "Five years have passed and now the clones are starting to return."

"_So…me and Cloud weren't his only experiments…_" Zack thought to himself as he sighed sadly. "_Those men in black capes…were they victims of Hojo's experiments too…_"

"I thought that the clones would gather in Midgar where Jenova was stored," Hojo droned on in his usual manner as he resumed his pacing much to Zack's relief. "But…my predictions weren't exactly correct, Jenova itself began to move away from the building, but being the genius that I am I soon figured it out." Hojo bragged again causing Zack to growl under his breath, Hojo's vain glorious boasting was more than what he could take. However the drag human kept his mouth shut, annoying though Hojo was at times Zack like everyone else found himself wanting to hear more. "You see it was all Sephiroth's doing, Sephiroth is not just content to diffuse his will into the Life Stream. He wants to manipulate the clones himself."

"_So it was Sephiroth…not Jenova that was trying to control Cloud and the other clones…_" Zack thought to himself.

Cloud was still stood on the branch of the tree like structure looking down at the scene below, "so that's how it all started…" Cloud uttered mentally to himself as he sat down on the tree branch and brought his knees up to his chin.

"I wondered where the clones were going," Hojo's voice droned on. "But I was never able to figure it out."

"_I couldn't figure it out either,_" Cloud silently agreed with Hojo as he continued to look down below.

"The one thing that I did know was that Sephiroth was at their final destination," Hojo continued as he continued to pace again.

"_I wasn't pursuing Sephiroth…_" Cloud thought sadly to himself as he shook his head. "_I was being summoned by Sephiroth," Cloud sighed again as he continued to realise the truth. "All the anger and hatred I bore him made it impossible for me to ever forget him, that and what he gave me…_" Cloud didn't think any more about it as he knew what he had to do, what his true purpose was, Cloud stood up and started to look around. "Sephiroth!" Cloud called the silver haired man's name as he continued to look for his master, "Sephiroth? I'm here! And I have brought you the Black Materia!" Cloud continued to call out, "please show yourself to me, where are you?" Cloud slowly turned himself round until he was facing the centre of the tree like structure and he saw a giant blue orb embedded in the branches. One look at the blue orb and Cloud was mesmerised, his eyes had glazed over and his pupils and irises disappeared leaving just the whites of his eyes which were now glowing with a green aura. Cloud took a few steps forward and continued to walk towards the blue orb in the centre. Cloud stopped in front of the blue stone and grinned at it as he saw Sephiroth in side it in deep slumber. "Sephiroth…we meet again…" Cloud spoke in a slow monotonous voice as though he was possessed by something, the blue orb continued to glow and Cloud stepped closer to it and climbed on it.

With the extra weight on the orb the branches could no longer support it and they snapped causing the blue orb to fall closer to the ground but fortunately it was suspended in the air by several vines. Everyone on the ground looked up and saw this. ""Did you see it?" Hojo exclaimed excitedly as he jumped up and down and pointed at the blue orb that was housing Sephiroth inside it. "It's Sephiroth! He IS here!" Hojo laughed evilly, "this is perfect! Both Jenova's reunion and Sephiroth's will! They won't be diffused into the Life Stream, but gathered here! Mwa, ha, ha!" Hojo laughed again however his laughter was cut short as he felt someone punch him in the face knocking him to the ground, Hojo looked up and saw Zack standing over him.

"You idiot!" Zack screamed at the mad man as he stared at Zack stunned for a moment, "do you have any idea of what this means?" Zack demanded as Hojo staggered slowly to his feet, "Cloud is vulnerable to Sephiroth's mind control and he has the Black Materia! It'll be the end of the world, everyone is gonna die, including us! Don't you realise how serious this is?"

Everyone including Hojo stared at the drag human in shock as they realised the gravity of the situation, eventually Rufus broke the silence. "Whatever I say now is too little too late, we must evacuate," he stated as calmly and rationally as he could causing everyone to stare at him. "I want you all to come with me," Rufus commanded, "there is still much I need to know."

"I don't like it," Zack replied as he stared sceptically at Rufus, "but for once I have to agree with Rufus. We need to get out of here…" Zack continued before he looked up at the blue orb to see that Cloud had the Black Materia in his hand. "Cloud no!" Zack called up to his friend hoping to talk some sense into him.

Everyone else heard Zack shout and they looked up to see Cloud preparing to give the Black Materia to Sephiroth. "Cloud no!" Everyone yelled in unison.

"Cloud please…" Tifa pleaded tearfully as she continued to look up at the man. "Please stop this! For everyone's sake!" However Cloud was beyond listening now, he looked down at the group and grinned evilly at them before he slowly reached his hand to the blue orb, the surface of the blue orb became liquid and Cloud was able to easily slip his hand in and give the Black Materia to Sephiroth before pulling his hand out again. The Black Materia glowed with a dark energy as a dark aura surrounded Sephiroth, the entire area began to shake. "No…" Tifa uttered sadly as she fell to her knees, "he did it…he really did it…"

"Tifa!" Aerith called out to her friend as she reached her hand out and helped Tifa to her feet. "We have to get out of here!" Aerith uttered urgently as she started to drag Tifa away from the area.

"But Cloud…" Tifa started to utter as she looked up at the blue orb where Cloud still was and she saw that it was swinging dangerously on the vines which were beginning to snap.

"We've gotta get out here now!" Zack yelled desperately as he ran up to the two women and grabbed Tifa's other arm and the three ran out of the cave with the others just as ceiling was about to cave in. The vines holding the blue orb up snapped and the blue orb fell, Cloud fell off the blue orb and fell into the dark abyss below before landing in the Life Stream.

Meanwhile everyone else had boarded the Highwind and the airship had quickly taken off into the air just as the whirlwind maze was beginning to collapse in on itself leaving nothing but a hollow hole. Avalanche were on the deck of the Highwind looking down as they saw a giant, white, clawed hand reach out of the giant hole closely followed by a strange white monster. "What is that thing?" Yuffie yelled at the top of her lungs forgetting all about her motion sickness as she stared at the monster.

"It's Weapon…" Aerith uttered as she stared at the white beast, there was a binding white light as several other strange looking monsters emerged out of the crater. "The spell from the Black Materia must've caused Weapon to be released…"

"That's Weapon?" Zack yelled in shock as he stared at the monsters, "oh shit…so we have to contend with a bunch of giant monsters too!" The Highwind suddenly jolted to a halt as everyone both inside and outside the airship looked in horror at a giant, black dragon like monster in front of them. "Ok…that's a little too close for comfort…" Zack uttered nervously, the dragon monster roared loudly striking fear into the Highwind crew, the monster then lunged preparing to attack.

"HOLD ON TO SOMETHING!" Cid yelled at the top of his lungs as everyone quickly grabbed hold of the railings of the airship. The monster charged at the Highwind and rammed its body into the airship causing it shake.

"!" Tifa screamed as she lost her grip on the railing and started to slide down the airship to the damaged area.

"Tifa!" Aerith yelled as she saw her friend slip, Tifa continued to slide down the airship getting closer and closer to the edge until she went over it. Tifa closed her eyes as she waited to fall to death, but the fall never came.

"Huh…" Tifa uttered as she opened her eyes and saw Zack there holding on to her arm, his remaining arm and both his legs were hanging on to the railing at the side of the damaged area, his tail was also wrapped round the railing for extra support. "Zack!" Tifa called out the drag human's name, relieved to see him, "am I glad to see you!"

"Hang on Tifa!" Zack called out to the dark haired woman as he continued to hold her arm.

"Don't let go!" Tifa wailed desperately to the drag human.

"I'm not gonna let you go!" Zack reassured the distressed woman as he started to pull her up, "I'm gonna get you back up ok…I'm gonna…oh shit!" Zack yelled as he saw that the giant dragon like monster was extremely close to him.

"!" Tifa screamed at the top of her lungs as she too saw the monster. The monster roared again as it bashed itself into the Highwind.

"Whoa!" Zack yelled as he started to lose his grip on the railing due to the vibrations surging through it. Zack wrapped his tail tighter round the railing in a desperate attempt to keep his grip. The monster bashed itself into the ship again causing Zack's tail to completely unravel itself from the railing.

"!" Zack and Tifa both yelled at the same time as they fell off the Highwind, Zack grabbed Tifa's waist with his other hand and before moving his other hand towards Tifa's waist. He quickly opened his wings and flapped them to stop himself and Tifa from falling.

The two hovered in midair for a few seconds before Zack flapped his wings again causing him and Tifa to fly upwards. They flew up passed the giant monster, the monster roared as it swiped its arm across aiming to knock Zack and Tifa out of the sky. However Zack easily avoided it, "shit!" Zack yelled again as the monster swiped its other arm at him but missed as Zack flew downwards quickly before flying back up again. He and Tifa were now face to face with the monster, the monster snarled as a white ball of light formed in its mouth. Zack knew what it was about to do and he quickly turned his back on the monster and held Tifa closer to him to shield her. Zack then looked down at his arms to see a strange coloured substance trickling all over his arms, not only that but he could feel this substance trailing along every part of his body before it solidified into a material that was as hard and as tough as armour. (**A/N, the strange substance that was trailing all over Zack before solidifying was ivory. It's a hard material that's as tough as armour and is harder to break. As a drag human Zack's body naturally creates this ivory and actually boosts his defence when he uses it.**) "What the…" Zack uttered as he stared at the ivory platings on his arms, however he didn't have much time to wonder how the ivory had gotten there as the monster had already fired a white beam. "Uuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh…" Zack moaned, he winced in pain as he and Tifa were sent flying back on to the Highwind.

In his pain and shock at being hit Zack had released Tifa causing her to land on the deck of the Highwind, Zack slammed back first into the wall banging his head hard before falling to the deck unconscious. Tifa shook her head and looked up to see the monster building up some more energy as it charged passed the Highwind creating a mighty sonic boom in its wake. The Highwind violently shook and Tifa's eyes rolled into the back of her head as she slumped back unconscious. Barret ran up to the raven haired woman and cradled her in his arms as he stared at the five Weapons which had now charged off to different areas of the world. Barret looked back down at Tifa before he picked her up, "I gotta get her inside for some medical help!" Barret yelled desperately as he carried the unconscious woman inside the Highwind.

"Zack!" Aerith yelled as she ran up to the unconscious drag human and cradled him in her arms. She had seen and felt the impact of the monster's beam attack and she instantly began checking Zack for any serious wounds. Fortunately thanks to Zack's ivory armour the beam attack didn't do as much damage as it could've if Zack's ivory didn't come out when it did. "Phew…he doesn't seem to have take that much damage…" Aerith uttered, she lifted up Zack's forelocks and saw the bump on his head where he had hit it. Aerith was about to tend to Zack's head wound when she was suddenly grabbed by two Shinra guards, "hey!" Aerith yelled as she struggled against the two soldiers holding her, "what are you doing?" Let me go!"

"By orders of Rufus Shinra, you and your friends are under arrest," One of the soldiers calmly explained as more soldiers came out and pointed their guns at everyone else and led them inside the Highwind.

"You can't do this!" Aerith screamed as she continued to struggle, "Zack's hurt! He needs help!"

"Don't worry," a voice that was all too familiar to Aerith suddenly spoke. Aerith turned her head round and saw Hojo stood behind her. "I'll be taking very good care of my precious sample."

"Sample…" Aerith uttered as she stared at Hojo in shock.

"You mean he hasn't told you…" Hojo uttered as he raised his eyebrow slightly.

"He told me that he was a victim of one of your twisted experiments!" Aerith spat at Hojo.

Hojo merely laughed, "my dear, Zack is the first of a new breed of soldier," Hojo explained as he walked over to the drag human and stood on his tail. Zack winced in pain as he felt Hojo stand on his tail.

"Stop it you're hurting him!" Aerith screamed as she struggled wildly against her captors' grips.

"He's an experiment, he has no feelings." Hojo scoffed, he then turned back to Aerith. "You my dear will also serve as one of my experiments."

"Don't you dare!" Aerith yelled as Hojo started to walk closer to her, "Zack won't let you do this to us!"

"Zack is currently lying on the floor unconscious unless you're suggesting that he can attack us in his sleep," Hojo laughed at his own joke causing Aerith to scowl at him. "Take her to one of the special cells on the airship, I want her to be kept separate from the rest of her friends."

"Yes professor," the two soldiers replied as the saluted and dragged Aerith inside the airship.

"Zack! Zack please!" Aerith's desperate screams could be heard through out the airship, "please wake up!"

Hojo walked back over to Zack who was still lying on the deck of the Highwind unconscious, he started to prod Zack just as several more soldiers marched on to the deck. "Is this one of the captives?" One of the soldiers asked.

"Yes," Hojo answered as he stood up and walked away from Zack. "Take him to one of the special cells," Hojo ordered as the soldiers walked over to Zack and picked him up, "he's also one of my prized specimens so be careful with him!" Hojo screamed at the soldiers, the soldiers carefully carried Zack into the Highwind. "I have so many plans for the drag human and his Cetra girlfriend," Hojo whispered to himself as he laughed evilly before entering the Highwind and closing the door behind him. The sky had darkened and tiny stars flickered and the red moon shone brightly as the Highwind made its way to its destination.

* * *

**Finally chapter 13 is finished, sorry it took so long for me to write it but I was busy with other things. Another long chapter, my chapters seem to be getting long, anyway, things are getting much more sinister and just what does Hojo have planned for Aerith and Zack and will they be able to escape from the clutches of the evil scientist? Find out in chapter 14 which will be coming soon. Just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters and contents, they all belong to Square Enix.**


	14. Meteor has Come

Chapter 14: Meteor Has Arrived

**Chapter 14: Meteor Has Come **

**Just a warning before hand, this chapter does contain jokes of a sexual nature.**

* * *

_ "What happened…I don't remember anything beyond Weapon attacking…"_ Zack thought to himself as he looked around to find nothing but black._ "What's going on? Everything's dark…I can't see anything…"_ Zack continued to scan his surroundings as he squinted in the hopes that he could see something, pricked his ears up so that he could hear something, anything had to be better than the eerie silence he was going through right now. The only sound he could hear was his own ragged breathing as his thoughts drifted to his friends in particular Aerith.

"_Aerith!" _Zack tried to yell out but for some strange reason his voice was muffled, in fact he wasn't sure if he had actually spoken out loud at all. _"Aerith! Where are you?!" _Zack let out another muffled yell as he looked around much more frantically for any hint of pink among this black void. _"Aerith! Please answer me! Give me a sign that you're here! Give me a sign that I'm not alone!"_

For a while there was no answer, no other voice, no one else was there, it was just Zack and not for the first time in his life he began to feel frightened. Zack sat down on the invisible floor, he lifted his legs up and rested his head in his knees and closed his eyes as he waited for his fate. _"Zack…" _A familiar voice suddenly spoke up causing Zack to suddenly lift his head up.

"_Huh…" _He uttered as he quickly got to his feet and looked around for the source of the voice. _"Who's there?!" _He called out.

"_Zack…" _The voice spoke again, Zack turned to his left and he saw Aerith in the distance.

"_Aerith…" _Zack whispered the woman's name as he rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming, _"Aerith!" _Zack called out the woman's name much louder this time as he was certain he was seeing her and he started to run towards her.

"_Zack…" _Aerith called his name out a third time.

"_Hang on Aerith! I'm coming!" _Zack yelled as he continued to run towards her but every time he got closer to Aerith the further away she seemed to slip. _"Aerith!" _Zack desperately called out to the woman as she drifted further away from him. _"Please…don't leave me…"_

"_Wake up Zack…" _Aerith whispered as she disappeared her words continued to echo in Zack's mind as he stopped running and fell to his knees and he yelled as loud as he could as he could no longer bear his anguish.

"_Wake up…"_

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Zack screamed as he suddenly sat up dripping in sweat and breathing deeply.

"Take it easy," a familiar voice whispered to Zack, "you were having a nightmare."

Zack opened his eyes and turned his head to the right and he saw Aerith kneeling beside him dabbing a damp cloth on his forehead. "Aerith…" Zack uttered weakly as he squinted to get a better look at her.

"Yeah," Aerith answered as she continued to wipe dab Zack's head with the cloth.

Zack moaned slightly as he lifted his hand up and stroked the side of Aerith's face. "This is real…" he whispered as he smiled weakly. "I'm not going mad…" Zack withdrew his hand and tried to stand up but he stumbled slightly, however Aerith caught him.

"Easy…" The Cetra whispered to him as she continued to support him. "Take it a small step at a time ok."

"Ok," Zack replied as he let Aerith help him up, he slowly walked to the other side of the room with Aerith supporting him. Aerith helped him over to an uncomfortable looking bed and Zack slowly sat down on it his head flopped down as Aerith let go of him. "Uuuuuuhhhh…" Zack moaned again as he weakly lifted his head up and looked around, "where are we?" He asked as he started intently at Aerith.

"We're in the Shinra base in Junon," Aerith answered as she knelt down beside Zack. "We're in the lab area."

"Lab…" Zack repeated what Aerith said, "that can't be good."

"I know," Aerith agreed.

"How long was I out for?" Zack questioned not taking his eyes off Aerith.

"Three days," came the reply.

"What about our friends, the Meteor situation…" Zack continued to question Aerith as he stood up again.

"Easy…" Aerith said again as she eased Zack back on to the bed, "you need to regain your strength. I'm not sure where everyone else is and I don't know whether Meteor has arrived yet. We've been stuck in this room for three days no one has told me anything, besides, my only concern was you."

"Really…" Zack quizzed as he looked back at Aerith.

"Yeah," Aerith replied as she knelt down beside him again. "I thought you'd never wake up, I was so scared." Aerith admitted as she hung her head sadly.

"Hey…come on," Zack reassured the Cetra as he placed his hand under Aerith's chin and lifted her head up so that she was looking at him. "It's gonna take more than a giant monster to kill me."

"You were unconscious for three days…" Aerith reminded him, "I thought I was going to lose you."

"I know…" Zack stated sadly he then took a closer look at Aerith and noticed something he hadn't before. "Aerith…you're…in your…underwear…" Zack uttered as he pointed at Aerith who was wearing pink knickers and a matching pink bra.

"You are too," Aerith stated as she pointed at Zack.

"What?" Zack questioned as he suddenly leapt to his feet and looked down at himself to see that he was wearing nothing but a pair of black boxers. "I'm…in my boxers…and…" he looked at himself again and he saw that his skin colour was no longer purple, he looked behind him and he saw that his wings and tail were no longer there. "I'm…I'm human again…" He uttered hardly daring to believe what he was seeing, he then started to laugh and grabbed Aerith by the hand before he started dancing round the cell with her. "Can you believe it Aerith?!" He yelled excitedly as he swung Aerith round, "I'm me again!"

"I know," Aerith stated just as excitedly, "it happened while you were unconscious," she started to explain "one minute you were in your drag human form and the next, you reverted."

"Maybe I was shocked out of that form," Zack theorised as he stopped dancing, he wrapped both his arms round Aerith and brought her closer to him. "I don't care how it happened, I'm just glad to be human again!"

"I'd have loved you no matter what you looked like," Aerith whispered in Zack's ear.

"I know," Zack replied, "you look hot in your underwear," Zack stated as he smirked at Aerith.

"Oh you…" Aerith uttered as she hit Zack in the chest, Zack just laughed at her.

His laughter was cut short as the cell door opened with a loud creaking sound, Zack quickly released Aerith and they both turned round to see that Hojo had entered the room flanked by two guards. "Aaaaaaahhhhh…so you're awake…" Hojo commented as he walked closer to his captives.

"Hojo…" Zack uttered as he stared at the man that was walking towards him and Aerith, the man that had ruined so many lives. "I should've known."

"Let me take a look at you," the scientist replied as he started to pace round Zack. Hojo began to look Zack up and down and lifted the man's arms up so he could examine them, Zack let out a small gasp as Hojo prodded Zack's back with his pen. "Your injuries are healing up nicely," Hojo remarked as he made notes.

"Touch me again and I'll break every bone in your pathetic little body…" Zack whispered menacingly as he flexed his muscles. Hojo's guards were quick to react and they pointed their guns at Zack.

"I wouldn't threaten me if I were you," Hojo stated calmly as his guards continued to point their guns at Zack. "These guards were ordered to protect me from you, of course you are a valuable specimen and I'd hate for you to come to any harm so I'd just be a good experiment and obey me."

Zack glared at Hojo and a low growl escaped his throat, but he knew that Hojo was right, if he tried anything the guards would surely kill him. Zack sighed as his arms fell back down to his sides, "alright…I'll do what you say."

"A wise choice," Hojo replied with a smirk, "I see you've reverted back to your human form…almost…" Hojo remarked.

"Almost…what do you mean almost?" Zack questioned the professor.

Hojo took a small mirror out of his pocket and held it out in front of him, "see for yourself," was all he said.

Zack took the mirror from Hojo and looked into it and he was shocked to discover that his eyes were still yellow and his pupils were still black slits. "What the…" Zack uttered hardly daring to believe it, "my eyes…they're still…animal like…" Zack opened his mouth slightly and he saw two small fangs. "I still have fangs…"

Hojo laughed evilly, "It would seem that you have still kept some of your drag human traits," Hojo explained as he paced round the room. "You will never be normal again."

"Why are you doing this?!" Zack demanded, "what else could you possibly do to me?!"

"I want to create the perfect soldier," Hojo answered as he stopped and stared at Zack. "You and your girlfriend are going to help me."

Aerith stepped out from behind Zack and walked up to Hojo, "what are you going to do to us?!" She demanded as she stared at Hojo a hint of fear in gaze.

"I'm planning on breeding you and the mutant," Hojo explained placing more emphasis on the word mutant and smirking at Zack causing him to glare at the scientist. "By getting you both to mate I will be creating the ultimate super soldier, one with both Cetra and dragon abilities."

"Breed…mate…" Zack uttered as he bared his teeth at Hojo, "we're not just some animals in a zoo!"

"My boy, that's exactly what you are," Hojo stated coldly.

"I'm not gonna…it's not right…" Zack continued to utter as he glared at Hojo in disgust.

"You won't be able to help yourself and neither would your girlfriend," Hojo replied, "well, I better get a move on you two have a lot of work to do." Hojo laughed evilly as he said this, his guards also laughed as they along with Hojo left the room, Hojo took a remote out of his pocket and pushed a button on it before leaving the cell and his guards closed the door.

Aerith began to pace round the room, "he's planning on breeding us…" Aerith uttered in panic as she continued to pace round the room. "I didn't want my first time to be like this."

"Neither did I," Zack agreed as he tried to remain calm. "I was actually picturing something a little more romant…" Zack stopped in mid-sentence as he suddenly sniffed up and smelt something. "Aerith…Do you smell that?" He asked as he continued to sniff.

"Yeah," Aerith answered as she too sniffed up, "but what is it?"

"Hmmm…" Zack uttered as he sniffed up again, "it smells like fish…I think it's…" Zack sighed as he realised what the smell was. "Hormones, male and female mixed together," he answered.

"How can you tell?" Aerith asked.

"Well, I think the male one is mine, I recognise the smell," Zack answered as he sniffed again.

"So the female one must be mine…" Aerith stated, "I don't understand, why is Hojo pumping our hormones into the room?"

"Better yet, how did he get them?" Zack questioned.

"He must've taken samples from us at some point," Aerith stated.

"Hojo's been touching me…" Zack uttered slowly as his body shuddered at the thought, "he's pumping our own hormones into the room to get us in the mood so that we'd actually…damn…" Zack suddenly cursed as he looked down and quickly placed his hands over his lower regions.

Aerith turned round and saw him, "what's wrong?" She asked her voice was filled with concern.

"Aerith…errr…I'm in a bit of an awkward situation here…" Zack answered as he gave her a nervous stare, "I can't tell you what it is because it's a little embarrassing…"

"I'm sure it's not that bad…" Aerith stated, Zack sighed before removing his hands, Aerith saw his embarrassing situation. "Oh…right…now I see…"

"I know…" Zack uttered still embarrassed as he placed his hands back over his lower regions. He then noticed something about Aerith, "errr…Aerith…I think the errr…hormones are affecting you even though you don't want them to."

"What do you mean?" Aerith demanded as she stared at Zack wanting to know what was going on. Zack pointed at Aerith's chest area, she looked down. "Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!" She yelped as she quickly placed her arms over her chest area completely covering it. Aerith looked back up at Zack and she saw that he was staring at her completely transfixed on her chest. "What?" She asked.

"I'm just lookin'…" Zack answered in a slow voice like he was in some sort of trance.

"At what?" Aerith questioned.

"At you…" Zack replied still in that trance like voice.

"Zack…my face is up here," Aerith stated a hint of annoyance in her voice as she pointed to her face.

"I'll just be a minute…" Zack responded in that same dreamy like voice as he waved a finger at Aerith. "Man…I can definitely tell you're a flower girl," Zack continued not taking his eyes off Aerith's chest area. "You've grown some big flowers over the years…"

Aerith scowled at Zack before slapping him hard across the face, "snap out of it Zack!" Aerith screamed at the man.

"Ouch!" Zack yelled in pain as he snapped out of his trance like state and held his face where Aerith had slapped him. "That hurt…" Zack uttered pathetically as he gave Aerith the puppy dog look.

"We need to think of a way out of this," Aerith told Zack trying to keep him focused, "and you're not helping a bit."

"Ok, ok," Zack responded as he threw his hands in the air. "I'll think of a way out…" He stated as he paced round the room and began to tap the walls. "Well, busting out of here is a no go," he told Aerith.

"Why's that?" Aerith asked.

"The wall is made out of reinforced titanium," Zack answered as he tapped the wall again. "My drag human form wouldn't be able to break out of this cell, Hojo's made sure of that."

"So how do we get out of here?" Aerith questioned still covering her chest.

"I'm thinking…" Zack answered, but he couldn't think properly as the hormones were starting to seriously affect him. "Shit!" Zack cursed loudly as he banged his head on the wall, "why…is it…so…hard…to come up…with…a plan…to get…out of here…" Zack muttered in between bangs, the uncomfortable feeling between his legs began to get worse. With a sigh, Zack pushed himself off the wall and walked back over to Aerith, he stood behind her and wrapped his arms round her. "You know…" Zack started to suggest the hormones having more and more of an affect on him. "Meteor could be here anytime soon and we may not get another opportunity so…"

"Zack stay focused!" Aerith snapped quickly interrupting Zack, "We can't give Hojo the satisfaction…"

"What about our satisfaction?" Zack questioned.

"Zack…please keep it under control…" Aerith begged her boyfriend, "We just have to hold out long enough to be rescued."

The two suddenly heard the sound of footsteps down the corridor, "that's probably Hojo," Zack stated, "coming to check up on us no doubt…" Zack sighed, "No privacy…"

Aerith stared at Zack in shock before she suddenly grinned, "Zack…I think I have an idea."

"Oooooooo…do tell," Zack replied intrigued.

"I don't think even Hojo would come into the cell while the hormones are circulating round the room," Aerith answered, "he'd probably just look in from the outside, so what if we just gave him the impression that we're actually…"

"When we're really not," Zack finished Aerith's sentence before grinning. "I love it when you talk dirty."

Aerith smirked before turning round and wrapping her arms round Zack's neck, "enough talk…" Aerith whispered in Zack's ear as the hormones started to affect her more. She suddenly kissed Zack passionately on the lips, Zack moaned as he passionately kissed her back. Aerith's arms moved slowly towards Zack's back and began to stroke his shoulder blades. Zack let out another moan of pleasure before two slits on his shoulder blades opened and his purple dragon wings emerged out of his back and wrapped themselves round Zack and Aerith. (**A/N, even though Zack is in his human form at the moment he still has some dragon traits like the eyes and the fangs. Also his wings haven't disappeared when he reverted back to a human but they retracted into his back and two slits had formed on his shoulder blades. Zack can still fly and use other abilities like invisibility and shooting fire, ice etc out of his hands.**) Aerith let out a pleasured moan as she started to drag Zack towards the cell door.

Meanwhile Hojo was outside in the corridor talking on a mobile phone, "yes I need a brain chip that can brainwash an experiment," Hojo spoke down the phone. "How soon can it be delivered?"

"It will take three days," the person on the other side of the phone answered.

"Three days…" Hojo repeated what he heard, "I don't have that much time!" Hojo yelled down the phone.

"Sir if you can just…" the person on the other phone started to say in an attempt to calm Hojo down.

"Do you know who I am?!" Hojo demanded interrupting the person, "I am Professor Hojo, the Head of Shinra's Science Development!"

"Professor, there's nothing I can do, the brain chip will be delivered in three days, I can't make it go any faster."

"Fine!" Hojo snapped, "but it had better be here!" Hojo hung up on the phone, "insolent fool…" he muttered to himself as he walked down the corridor. He could hear the sound of moaning coming from of the cells, "hmmm…" Hojo uttered as the moans grew louder, Hojo walked to the cell at the end of the corridor just in time to see the back of Aerith's hand hit the fogged up glass window on the door before sliding back down out of sight. Hojo smiled when he saw this, "the hormones must be working," he stated before turning round and walking off. (**A/N, this is a parody of a part of the film Titanic where Jack and Rose were kissing in a car and Rose's hand hit the misted window and slid down. I don't own Titanic it belongs to its respective owner.**)

Back in the cell Zack and Aerith heard that Hojo's footsteps were disappearing before they were eventually gone. As soon as Hojo had gone Zack and Aerith stopped kissing and smirked at each other. "I can't believe he bought it," Zack stated as he tried hard not to laugh. "I can't believe you came up with the idea."

Aerith grinned back, "I can't believe it worked," Aerith stated, she too tried hard not to laugh.

"But it did," Zack stated, "and it bought us some time, we can find a way out of here."

"But we don't know how to get out of here, the walls are made of reinforced titanium, remember?" Aerith reminded Zack.

"I know," Zack replied, "I just hope some of the others managed to escape."

"I'm sure they have, we just have to have hope," Aerith reassured Zack before yawning.

"I think we should get some sleep," Zack stated as Aerith walked over to the wall at the far side of the cell and sat down. Zack followed her and sat down next to her for a while before yawning himself, Aerith lay down and yawned again as she became more tired. Zack took one last look at her before lying down, he wrapped his wings round them both to help keep them both warm and he wrapped his arms round Aerith.

Aerith smiled as she lifted her head up slightly and saw Zack lying next to her, "thanks Zack," she stated gratefully.

"You're welcome," Zack replied, "my wings will keep safe and warm."

"I know," Aerith responded, "I'll always be safe with you around, night Zack."

"Night Aerith," Zack said back as he kissed her on the lips before the two of them fell asleep. Zack smiled in his sleep, he wasn't really sure why he was smiling especially in his current situation. But he knew that as long as he and Aerith were together Hojo couldn't break him so easily, little did Zack know was that Hojo was planning to finish what he had started.

The next three days were exactly the same as far as Zack and Aerith were concerned, each morning the guards entered their cells to bring them food. It was only basic food and wasn't exactly tasty but Zack and Aerith reluctantly ate it. Hojo often came by several times a day to check on their on their progress as Zack and Aerith found it harder and harder to fight their urges each day and they realised that if they didn't have a means of escape soon that they would eventually have no choice but to give in to what Hojo wanted them to do.

After those three days it had been exactly a week since the events that had taken place in Whirlwind Maze and since Zack and Aerith were held captive and there were several Shinra guards patrolling the prison area where Zack and Aerith were being held. The guards were so busy patrolling the area that they didn't even notice someone moving around in the shadows. The mysterious person continued to move through the shadows taking great care not to be caught by the guards. As the person got closer to Zack and Aerith's cell they could hear two guards talking.

"Why are we always on guard duty?" One of the guards complained as he stopped pacing round.

"Would you rather be on the frontline?" His comrade questioned him.

"No," the first guard answered, "but I don't want to spend my whole career doing guard duty."

"I think you should keep your head down and get to work before you get fired," his comrade replied growing more and more irritated. "This is what we're paid to do."

"I know, I know," the first guard stated with a sigh. The two guards were so busy arguing that they didn't see a gun barrel peering out of the shadows until two gunshots rang and the two guards dropped to the floor dead with a single bullet hole in the centre of their heads.

The gun withdrew back into the shadows and the wielder of the gun stepped out of the shadows to reveal Vincent. Vincent twirled the gun round twice in his hand before putting it back in its holster. He walked over to the two guards and began to search them until he found the card key to the cell door. Vincent then calmly stepped over the guards' bodies and walked over to Zack and Aerith's cell and placed the card key into the card reader. The card reader bleeped and the red lights flashed green as the cell door opened, Vincent stepped into the cell and saw Zack and Aerith lay on the floor at the far side of the cell asleep, Zack's wings were wrapped round the two of them to keep them warm. Vincent walked up to the two and knelt down beside Zack and gently shook him. "Zack…" Vincent whispered into the man's ear as he continued to shake him. "Wake up…"

"Uuuuuuuhhhhh…huh…" Zack moaned as he began to stir, he opened his eyes and turned round to see Vincent kneeling beside him. "Vincent!" Zack exclaimed excitedly, "Am I glad to…" The rest of Zack's sentence was muffled as Vincent placed his hand over Zack's mouth to keep him quiet.

"Ssssssssshhhhhh…you don't want to attract anymore guards do you?" Vincent asked in a hushed tone as Zack shook his head. "Good, I've come to rescue you both, wake Aerith up so we can get out of here."

Zack nodded and Vincent released him, Zack sat up slightly and turned round to face Aerith, he began to shake her gently. "Aerith…" Zack whispered in the Cetra's ear, "Wake up…"

"Uuuuuhhhh…" Aerith moaned as her eyes fluttered open, she looked up and saw Zack sat over her. "Zack…" she whispered, "why did you wake me up?"

"Vincent's here," Zack answered as he pointed to the dark man next to him. "He's come to bust us out."

"Really…" Aerith uttered as she quickly sat up, "are we glad to see you Vincent."

"Likewise," Vincent responded as he stood up. "We must hurry, more guards could be here any minute we must make our escape."

Zack quickly stood up and helped Aerith to her feet, Zack retracted his wings into his back before he, Aerith and Vincent ran out of the cell. "How did you get here?" Zack questioned as the three ran through the corridor, Zack and Aerith were finding awkward to be running around in their underwear.

"Me and Yuffie managed to escape and jump off the Highwind before it reached Junon," Vincent answered as he, Zack and Aerith ran round the corner and down the next corridor. "We formulated a plan to get into the city undetected, Yuffie is in the city right now trying to find the others."

"I hope she doesn't get caught," Aerith uttered clasping her hands together as she ran.

"Don't worry about Yuffie," Vincent reassured the brown haired woman. "She's a master of disguise…apparently…"

Zack snickered when he heard that but he stopped when Aerith scowled at him. "What about the others?" Zack asked his expression suddenly serious.

"Most likely still in Shinra custody," Vincent answered gravely. "It took me a while just to find you two, Yuffie said that she would find the others."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Zack asked.

"No," Vincent stated truthfully, "but she's part of the team and we must trust her."

"Do you like her or something Vincent?" Aerith enquired as she smiled at him.

Vincent turned his head round and glared at Aerith, "no…" he lied through his teeth.

Aerith just gave Vincent a knowing look, "you're not a very good liar Vincent." She merely stated seeing through Vincent's lie.

Vincent just glared at her, "this isn't the time nor the place to discuss my love life!" He snapped, "we have more important things to worry about, like finding clothes for you two."

"Don't try to change the subject Vince," Zack admonished playfully causing the dark man to glare at him. "Ok, ok…if my memory serves me right they normally keep their prisoners' equipment in a storage room." Zack informed Aerith and Vincent as they ran round the corner and saw an elevator. "Which is probably the next floor up," Zack stated as they got to the elevator and pushed the button. After a few seconds the elevator arrived and Zack, Vincent and Aerith got inside.

Fortunately there was no one in the elevator so there was no risk of them getting caught. The elevator made a dinging sound as it reached its destination, Zack, Vincent and Aerith stepped out of it and ran down the corridor being careful not to alert any guards. They eventually reached the storage room, Vincent looked at the cardkey reader before taking his gun out and shooting it, the cardkey reader bleeped as it was being continually pumped with bullets and the door it was connected to opened. Zack and Aerith ran into the room but Vincent stayed outside, "I'll stand guard," Vincent told them as he stood outside the door and kept a look out for the guards.

"Ok," Zack and Aerith responded in perfect unison as they began to look around for their clothing and equipment.

After a few minutes Aerith eventually found her pink dress, boots and jacket, "I never thought I'd see my clothes again," Aerith stated as she started to get dressed.

"Lucky for some…" Zack muttered under his breath as he continued to search for his clothes, but alas he found nothing. He walked over to one of the lockers on the far side of the room and using his dragon strength he ripped the door clean off and he gasped when he saw what was inside. "I can't believe it…"

"What?" Aerith asked as she walked up to Zack fully clothed.

"I can't believe it's still here," Zack answered as he pulled the object out of the locker to reveal a black sleeveless shirt with a golden dragon head broach on the left hand side. Black baggy trousers that were very similar to the trousers in Zack's old SOLDIER uniform, connected to the trousers was a black leather belt with a golden dragon head belt buckle in the middle. There were also some smaller belts which looked like they held a sword sheath in place, connected to the back of the trousers was what looked like a black cape trimmed with gold and decorated with a gold dragon head. Zack reached into the locker and pulled out a pair of jet black elbow length gloves which were buckled all the way down the glove up to the hands and a pair of black buckled boots. (**A/N, I know this looks very similar to Cloud's Advent Children outfit but there are some differences, such as the dragon heads and the numerous belts.**) "I thought they got rid of this."

"What's it doing here then?" Aerith questioned as she stared at the outfit that Zack was holding.

"They confiscated it because they said it wasn't appropriate," Zack answered. "Not that it matters now, ok, do you mind looking the other way?"

"You don't need to be shy in front of me," Aerith stated as she gave Zack a playful grin.

"Aerith!" Zack yelled as he scowled at the woman.

"Ok, ok…" Aerith stated quickly and defensively, "I won't look…" Aerith turned away and Zack was able to get dressed.

"You can look now," Zack told the Cetra, she turned round and saw that Zack was fully dressed in his new outfit.

"Wow…you look so sexy in that outfit," Aerith remarked as she gave Zack a flirtatious grin.

Zack grinned back, "thanks," he replied gratefully, "we just need to find our weapons now." Zack and Aerith walked towards the weapon area of the storage room after much searching Aerith eventually found her staff.

"I've found my weapon," Aerith informed Zack as she swung her staff round once. "Did you find anything?" She asked as she turned round to look at Zack.

"Nothing yet," Zack told Aerith as he searched through all the swords. He saw all kinds of swords that were either stored or confiscated from prisoners over the years. There were broadswords, long swords, short swords, daggers, even chainblades. Zack continued to examine the swords until he saw a katana, "ah ha!" he yelled triumphantly as he grabbed the katana from the shelf and connected the sheath with the katana inside it to the small belts that were connected to the main belt round his waist.

"You can use a katana…" Aerith asked as she gave Zack a questioning look.

Zack nodded as he looked up at Aerith, "all SOLDIERs are taught different sword techniques," Zack answered, "it's part of the basic training, besides, Cloud has my sword."

"I know," Aerith stated as she gave Zack an amused smile. "But doesn't Sephiroth use a katana?"

Yes, but knowing your enemy's style doesn't do any harm," Zack explained.

"When you're quite finished…" Vincent called out to them, "we have to get out of here before the guards figure out that you've escaped."

"Sorry Vincent," Aerith apologised as she and Zack left the storage room and ran down the corridor. They had just made their way to a flight of stairs at the end of the corridor as an alarm suddenly rang out. "What was that?!" Aerith asked in a panicked tone as she got closer to Zack.

Several SOLDIERs and guards were running round the facility barking orders and getting their weapons together. "Weapon is attacking!" A voice boomed down the intercom, "all SOLDIERs prepare for battle!"

"Weapon…" Zack whispered as he looked back at his two companions.

"Remember those monsters we saw at the Northern Crater," Vincent asked, Zack nodded in response. "One of them must've made their way to Junon, the Shinra are on high alert right now."

"With the SOLDIERs being distracted with Weapon, we can get out of here no problem," Zack stated. "Let's go," he told his two companions and they ran up the stairs.

After several flights of stairs they came across a door, Zack pushed it open and the group stepped out to find that they were in the city of Junon itself. "We're in the city…" Aerith uttered as she looked around the three of them found themselves instinctively looking up at the sky. "Meteor…" Aerith uttered as she continued to stare at the giant ball of death in the sky.

"It's here…" Zack added as he too continued to look up at the ball. "We really are doomed…"

"It isn't over, till it's over." Vincent uttered calmly.

Aerith and Zack both stared at him, "how can you be so calm at a time like this?" Aerith questioned.

"When you've been through as much as I have the only thing you can do is remain calm," Vincent answered.

Zack was about to respond but he didn't get chance as he heard screams, the group looked around and saw numerous civilians running round and screaming in panic. "Weapon must be getting really close…" Zack stated as a woman with two young children ran passed them. The ground suddenly shook and Zack had to quickly grab Aerith so that she wouldn't fall over, Aerith smiled up at Zack before she, Zack and Vincent looked up and saw a powerful beam shoot out of the giant Mako cannon and zoom across the sea and explode as it impacted against something.

For a while time seemed to stand still, no one dared to speak or move as they wondered whether Weapon was dead. A few seconds later however the alarm sounded again, "what's happening?!" Aerith asked in a panicky tone as the citizens resumed running round in panic.

"I think…Weapon's still alive…" Zack stated as he tried to hide the panic in his voice, the ground shook again but much more fiercely this time as Weapon approached Junon at a great speed.

"The cannon should've…" Aerith uttered as she found it hard to speak.

"The cannon runs off Mako," Zack began to explain, he folded his arms as he continued to look out at sea. "It's the most powerful weapon in the world, Weapon's armour must be extremely thick for it to survive that blast."

"That cannon runs off Mako…" Aerith continued to utter, "as in the stuff that's killing the planet…"

"Oh no…Meteor will do that…" Zack stated semi-sarcastically, Aerith scowled at him.

"But…they can fire it again…right?" Aerith asked the ex SOLDIER.

Zack shook his head, "the cannon needs time to recharge," he explained still with his arms folded. "But at the speed Weapon's moving by the time the cannon's fully recharged, it will already be too late."

"Until then they will be using ordinary weaponry to combat Weapon," Vincent added, the three then watched in silence as several turrets and SOLDIERs wielding rocket launchers opened fire at the fast approaching Weapon. However, the bullets and rockets either missed Weapon entirely or they didn't faze it, Aerith, Zack and Vincent braced themselves as the ground shook again much more fiercely as a giant blue squid like creature smashed itself into the edge of the city before submerging. A few seconds later Weapon resurfaced and removed its head armour to reveal a monstrous blue face with glaring yellow eyes, the monster opened its mouth and shot a beam out of it making a hole in the roof of one of the buildings. Weapon opened its mouth again ready to fire another beam but the Mako cannon had fully recharged and another beam shot out of the cannon and exploded as it hit Weapon's face. When the smoke had cleared Zack, Aerith and Vincent saw much to their horror that Weapon's head was blown clean off, green blood oozed out of the gaping hole where its head used to be before Weapon permanently submerged.

"Did you see that?" Aerith questioned as she looked from Zack to Vincent.

"Yeah," Zack answered, "that's one Weapon down and another four to go including the one that attacked me."

Vincent shook his head and rolled his eyes as he heard that but before he could respond the group could hear several guns clicking as they found themselves surrounded by several Shinra guards. "There they are!" The commander shouted as he pointed at the group, "they're with Avalanche! Arrest them!"

The guards started to advance on the group their fingers were quivering on the trigger, the guards were so focused on their prisoners that they didn't even notice that Zack had moved. Zack moved from guard to guard slashing at them with his new katana, Zack then skidded to a stop and smirked before sheathing the katana. As soon as the katana was sheathed all the guards' wounds opened up at once and they all fell to the floor dead. (**A/N, the move that Zack used is a katana technique called Quick Draw, the style involves moving from opponent to opponent and slashing them with the katana before sheathing it. Once the katana is sheathed all the wounds open up and the opponents die.**) Zack looked down and smirked at the dead bodies, "huh…no wonder Sephiroth likes using a katana so much…" he remarked as he walked back over to Aerith and Vincent.

"You're not going to go insane on us are you?" Aerith asked as she gave Zack a worried look.

"Sephiroth went insane because of a lie," Zack answered. "I'm not gonna go insane because I killed a few guards that probably would've killed us if they had the chance. Not bloody likely considering they were just crappy guards who would've been better off sticking with guard duty and I am a highly skilled ex SOLDIER…it wasn't a fair fight." Zack added as an after thought.

Vincent sighed, "let's just get out of here before it starts to get to your head," Vincent stated. The three moved away from the sea and made their way through the city being careful to stick to the back alleys to avoid suspicion.

As they passed one street, Zack saw a young kid that he instantly recognised. The kid turned round and saw Zack before giving him and evil stare, it began to look around for something and gave Zack a disappointed look as it realised that something was missing. "Ha!" Zack laughed out loud and did a little victory dance as he saw the look of disappointment on the kid's face. "Joke's on you! "I don't have my tail anymore!" He continued to yell at the kid as he slapped his ass for emphasis.

Aerith shook her head at him, "did you have to slap your ass in public."

Zack just stared at her, "Aerith…we could be days away from impending doom!" Zack responded dramatically as he pointed at Meteor. "So please…let me have my moment of unspoilt gloating." Aerith and Vincent both sighed and rolled their eyes before Aerith grabbed Zack by the ear and started to drag him off. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" Zack yelled in pain as Aerith continued to drag him off.

"I think it's starting to get to your head," Aerith stated a little irritably as she dragged Zack to another alley. Vincent shook his head again and chuckled quietly to himself before following them.

As soon as they were in the next alley Aerith released Zack, "what did you do that for?" Zack demanded as he rubbed his ear.

"You were making a scene," Aerith answered as she jabbed a finger in Zack's chest. "Do you want us to get caught again?"

Zack shook his head, "no…" he answered, he then looked around saw that Vincent was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Vincent?" He asked.

"I'm here," came a reply as Vincent suddenly appeared next to Zack and Aerith.

"Do you have to do that?" Zack complained as he scowled at Vincent, "it really creeps me out."

"Let's just get out of here before we get caught," Vincent quickly changed the subject as he crept to the edge of the alley and looked around. "The airport isn't too far from here," he stated as he continued to search the area for any guards. "If we stick to the alleys and don't make any noise we should be able to get to the airport without being detected."

Vincent continued to scan the area for a few more seconds before gesturing for Zack and Aerith to move on. The three crept through several more alleys being careful to avoid the main street and they soon entered a building that looked very familiar to Aerith and Zack. "Hey, this is the area we came to so that we could disguise ourselves so that we were able to get on the ship to the other side." Aerith stated as she remembered that occasion well.

"Yeah…" Zack muttered quietly as he folded his arms, "it was also the time when I was shoved into that crate…and you still need to make it up to me…" Zack reminded Aerith of the promise she had made him.

"Let's just try to save the world from Meteor first," Aerith reminded him of the ball of impending death above their heads. "Then I'll make it up to you."

"Ok," Zack stated happily as he wrapped his arms round Aerith's waist.

"Ehem…" Vincent cleared his throat causing Zack to quickly release Aerith and both of them turned round to look at the dark man. "When you're quite finished…"

"Sorry Vincent," Aerith apologised, "come on, let's get out of here." The three ran down the corridor and hid in the shadows just as some Shinra guards ran out of the locker room. As soon as the coast was clear Zack, Aerith and Vincent ran round the corner and ran outside to find themselves at the airport. Everyone looked around trying to figure out where to go next.

"Now where do we go?" Zack asked as he looked around, "I don't really see any way out."

The three continued to look around, Aerith looked straight ahead of her and saw three people stood near the Highwind. "Look, there's people over there!" Aerith shouted as she pointed towards the Highwind, Zack and Vincent looked in the direction Aerith was pointing in. Aerith squinted so that she could see the people more clearly and she instantly recognised them. "It's Barret, Yuffie and Cait Sith!" She exclaimed excitedly, "they're ok!" Aerith started to run towards the Highwind, Vincent and Zack followed slightly behind her.

At the Highwind, Barret and Yuffie were panting heavily as they tried to get their breath back. Cait Sith was sat on Barret's shoulder. "You sure this is the right way?" Barret asked the cybernetic cat as he looked to his right at him. "It's a dead end..."

"Errrr…" Cait Sith started to utter as he tried to think of what to say. "Did I make a wrong turn?" He asked as he gave Barret a nervous stare.

Barret growled under his breath as he grabbed Cait Sith and shook him violently, "you mother fuckin' good for nothin' fuzz bag!" Barret yelled as he continued to shake Cait Sith, "what the hell are we gonna do now?! They'll all be comin' soon!"

"So there was a little snag in the plan…" Cait Sith uttered his voice vibrating slightly due to him being constantly shaken by Barret. "It's nothing we can't fix."

"So fix it then! Or I'll fix you!" Barret threatened the cybernetic cat, "and by fix I mean tear ya apart limb from limb!"

"Please don't…" Cait Sith begged, Barret just grunted before dropping Cait Sith on the ground.

Yuffie sighed to herself as she looked around for any guards, she saw three people running towards them. "Someone's coming!" She yelled as she pointed at the three people running towards them causing Barret and Cait Sith to look in the direction she was pointing in.

"Enemies…" Barret questioned.

"I don't think so," Yuffie answered.

"Barret, Yuffie, Cait Sith!" A familiar voice called out to them.

"It's Aerith, Vincent and some guy!" Yuffie exclaimed as Aerith and Vincent stopped in front of them.

"Thank goodness you're ok," Aerith stated happily as she smiled at her friends.

Barret then saw a third person stop next to them, he walked up to the man and pointed his gun arm at the man's head. "Who the hell are you?!" He demanded not removing the barrel of his gun arm from the man's head.

"Whoa hey relax Barret, it's me Zack." Zack told Barret as he stared nervously at the gun arm.

Barret eyed Zack suspiciously, "you don't look like Zack," he stated sceptically as he continued to point his gun arm at Zack.

"It is Zack!" Aerith exclaimed in a panicky voice as she grabbed hold of Barret's arm and tried to get the man to lower his gun arm. "He just figured out how to become human again that's all."

Barret, Yuffie and Cait Sith stared at Zack for a moment before smiling, "so where have you been?" Yuffie demanded as she folded her arms.

"You don't want to know," Zack answered a little sadly.

"Wait a minute," Barret spoke up, "you look similar to that guy we saw in those illusions that Sephiroth was showin' us."

Zack was about to respond but he heard several clicking sounds, the group looked around and saw themselves being surrounded by Shinra guards. "That's as far as you go!" The commander yelled at the group as the guards continued to point their guns at the group. "Attack!" The group merely smirked at each other as they readied their weapons and got into fighting stances.

* * *

Meanwhile in another part of Junon, Tifa had escaped from her impending death and was currently climbing down a tall building after climbing out of a hole in the roof that Weapon had made earlier. She was half way down the building when Scarlet and some of her guards climbed out of the hole in the roof and saw Tifa making her escape. "There she is! Don't let her get away!" Scarlet ordered as she and the guards gave chase, however they were unsuccessful as the guards had lost their grip and fell passed Tifa and landed with a thud on the ground.

Tifa just shook her head when she saw it, "amateurs…" she muttered to herself before jumping off the building. She landed stomach first on the Mako cannon. Tifa lay there for a few seconds before picking herself up and dusting herself off before running along the cannon.

Tifa had reached the barrel of the cannon just as Scarlet approached her, "our little game of hide and seek ends here," Scarlet stated as she sauntered closer to the raven haired woman. "The execution may have been unsuccessful," Scarlet continued as she pushed a strand of hair out of her face. "But your death by falling from here and crashing into the water below might be pretty exciting."

Tifa sighed as she just stared at the blonde haired woman in shock, "what is it with you and executing people?" She demanded not in the mood for Scarlet's games. "Just leave me alone!"

Scarlet suddenly slapped Tifa hard across the face causing her to wince in pain and hold the area of the face where she had been slapped. However she didn't cry out in pain, she didn't wish to give Scarlet the satisfaction. Scarlet however smirked evilly at Tifa, "stuck up to the end," she spat bitterly as her smirk turned to a scowl.

Tifa glared at Scarlet for a moment as she slowly removed her hand to reveal a red mark on her cheek. Tifa balled her hands into fists and they shook violently as anger welled up inside the raven haired woman. "You…bitch…" Tifa uttered slowly before punching Scarlet square in the jaw knocking her backwards.

Scarlet stared at Tifa in shock as she relocated her jaw, she staggered slowly to her feet just as Tifa had advanced towards her. "You'll pay for that!" Scarlet screamed as she tried to slap Tifa again but Tifa was much too quick for her and she grabbed hold of Scarlet's hand and began to press down hard on the pressure points on her hand.

"I can do a whole lot worse to you if I really wanted to," Tifa whispered threateningly to Scarlet as the blonde haired woman struggled against Tifa's strong grip. "I'm not going to because unlike you I'm merciful," Tifa continued refusing to let go of Scarlet's hand. "But if you continue to treat me this way then I'll have no choice, understand?"

Scarlet nodded and Tifa released her, however before Scarlet could react Tifa punched her in the face again knocking her to the ground. "Uuuuuuhhh…" Scarlet moaned as she slowly picked herself up and rubbed her face. "I can't take much more of this!" She complained loudly just as two Shinra guards stepped up behind her. "Take her away!" Scarlet ordered as she looked at the guards before turning back to look at Tifa. "Now it's time to pay up," the blonde haired woman continued as she glared at Tifa. "I'll really drop you if you don't settle down!" She threatened as she gestured to the edge of the cannon, "ha, ha, ha!" Scarlet laughed evilly as Tifa started to back away as Scarlet and her guards advanced towards her.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zack, Aerith, Vincent, Barret, Yuffie and Cait Sith had managed to dispatch the enemies and all of them except for Vincent who went inside were currently stood on the deck of the Highwind as it took off. That was five minutes ago and the Highwind was flying through Junon, Zack, Aerith and Barret were looking out at the scenery around them. "What a wonderful view," Aerith stated happily as the breeze blew her long and untied hair back.

"Yeah," Zack agreed as he continued to look out. He saw that they were now close to the Mako cannon and he looked out and saw several people on the cannon. "Hey!" Zack called out to his friends causing them to run over, "there are people on that cannon!" Zack exclaimed as he pointed at the cannon.

Barret placed his hands over his eyes to get a better look and he saw Tifa walking backwards away from Scarlet and her guards. "It's Tifa!" Barret yelled, "She's in trouble!"

"We've got to do something!" Zack yelled desperately as he peered over the railing.

"Hang on tight!" Cid's voice boomed through an intercom attached to the wall near the door which led to the inside of the ship. "I'm headin' to the cannon so we can save Tifa's ass!" Cid explained as he steered the Highwind closer to the cannon.

The Highwind reached the end of the cannon and hovered there, Barret, Zack and the others saw Tifa backing closer and closer to the edge. "Run!" Barret called out as loud as he could causing Tifa to look around for the voice she could hear. "Run to the end of the cannon!"

Tifa quickly turned round and ran to the edge of the cannon as fast as she could, she saw Barret, Zack and Aerith stood at the edge of the deck waving to her before Barret and Zack lowered a rope. "Grab on!" Aerith called out to her friend, Tifa nodded and she leapt off the edge of the cannon and reached out for the rope. Unfortunately she missed the rope and she fell towards the sea clawing desperately at the air. Fortunately she managed to catch the rope as it swung towards her. Zack pulled the rope back up and as the rope got closer to the deck he reached out and grabbed hold of Tifa's hand helping her on to the deck. Tifa collapsed on the deck panting as soon as she was safely on board the Highwind pulled away from the cannon and flew out of Junon. Barret, Aerith, Zack and Cait Sith were stood over Tifa.

"Are you ok?" Barret asked his voice was filled with concern.

"I'm fine," Tifa answered as she nodded. "My cheek hurts a bit," she told her friends as she rubbed her cheek. "Anyway, forget about that, what's this about?"

"You mean the fact that I'm human again or the fact that we managed to commandeer the Highwind right under the Shinra's nose?" Zack asked as he smirked at Tifa.

Tifa stared at Zack, "so you stole it…" she questioned.

Zack was about to answer but he hesitated for a moment, "commandeered…" he reminded her, "we commandeered the Highwind." (**A/N, this is a parody of Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl where Jack Sparrow and William Turner are going to steal the Interceptor, I don't own this film it belongs to Disney.**)

Tifa gave Zack another questioning look, "it's just another way of saying you stole it," she stated.

Zack sighed, "fine…" he replied, "we stole it, does it matter how we got it? The point is we have an airship."

"I guess not," Tifa answered as Aerith helped her up, she then took a closer look at Zack. "You're human…"

"Well…I would've commended you if you said that a minute ago," Zack muttered sarcastically. "But the fact that you were a little slow on the uptake kind of makes me question your intelligence a little." Tifa scowled at Zack before punching him in the face. "Ow!" Zack yelled in pain as he put his hand over face.

"I don't need this right now Zack!" Tifa snapped, "I've been through enough as it is."

Zack was about to respond but Cait Sith cut in, "I hate to break up this happy reunion but we have a lot of work to do." Cait Sith stated, "in any case the Highwind is now ours, so feel free to explore." Cait Sith told Tifa as he slowly went inside the airship, Barret followed him.

"We're glad you're safe Tifa," Aerith stated happily as she hugged her friend.

"We were so worried about you," Zack added as he too hugged Tifa. "Me and Aerith are gonna go inside feel free to come in when you're ready," Zack told Tifa as he and Aerith made their way to the door which led to the inside of the airship. "You coming Yuffie?" Zack asked as he and Aerith walked passed the ninja who was currently leaning over the railing.

Yuffie lifted her head up and looked at Zack, her face was pale. "Uuuuuhhhh…no…I think…I'll stay here…in the…fresh air…" Yuffie moaned as she tried hard not to be sick, she hung her head over the railings again.

"Please yourself," Zack stated and he and Aerith went inside. Tifa stayed outside for another minute or two looking at the scenery that was speeding passed her before she decided to go inside.

Tifa walked down the steps and she saw Barret, Cait Sith and Zack gathered on a bridge, "shit! Why didn't you tell me you could fly an airship?!" Barret demanded as he stared at Cait Sith before turning away and shaking his head. "I thought…Tifa was gone for good…" He added an air of sadness in his voice, after a few seconds he turned back to face Zack and Cait Sith again.

"Sorry," Cait Sith apologised to Barret as he bowed his head. "I had to do something to trick the enemy," Cait Sith explained.

"Does it matter?" Zack cut in as he stared at Barret, "Tifa is safe, we all managed to get out of our situation alive. Come on, we better get to the bridge, everyone's waiting." Barret, Zack and Cait Sith walked across the bridge and entered the main room.

"Everyone…" Tifa asked herself as she jumped up and down excitedly as she thought of Cloud in that room with everyone else. Tifa quickly ran down the steps and across the bridge, she entered the main room and saw her friends stood in the room. They all looked up and smiled when they saw her.

Cid ran up to Tifa, "welcome to my airship, the Highwind!" Cid greeted his friend enthusiastically as he gestured all around him. Tifa said nothing but she looked around the room and she saw much to her dismay that there was someone missing. "What's wrong!?" Cid demanded when he saw the disappointed look on Tifa's face, "yer should be more excited than that!"

"Cid…" Aerith spoke up as she stepped forwards, "please be more tactful."

Tifa smiled weakly at Aerith before shaking her head, "there's not enough crew," was all she said before she walked to the window at the front of the Highwind and looked out.

Everyone in the room looked at each other before Zack, Aerith and Barret walked over to Tifa. "Tifa," Zack spoke softly to the raven haired woman. "I know you're worried about Cloud, we all are."

"If you need someone to talk to, you can always talk to me." Aerith offered kindly as she patted her friend on the back.

"Thank you," Tifa replied gratefully.

Red walked over to the four, "do you think that we're not strong enough without Cloud?" The beast questioned.

"What?" Zack asked as he gave Red a questioning stare, "of course we are, right Tifa?"

Tifa sighed sadly to herself, "Meteor is coming, and Weapon is on the rampage…" Tifa stated sadly, "at a time like this, I don't know what I'm supposed to do." Tifa shook her head as she said this, "no idea at all…"

"Get a hold of yerself Tifa!" Barret yelled as he tried to talk some sense into Tifa. "Come on, think about it, no way we're gonna get offa this train we're on!"

"Barret's right," Zack agreed, "you can't give up so easily."

Tifa sighed again, "if only Cloud was here…everything would be fine," she started to say as she thought about what would happen if Cloud was there. Would she be feeling like this now? "Cloud would…stand that cocky little way he did, and tell us what to do." Tifa smiled slightly as she closed her eyes and thought about the days when Cloud was in charge, when their goal was more simple and the very survival of the Planet wasn't on their shoulders. Tifa opened her eyes again and nodded, "he'd say 'everything's under control Tifa,'" Tifa continued she felt a tear escape her eye and she quickly turned away from her friends.

"Shit Tifa! When did you become such a wimp!?" Barret admonished.

"Barret!" Aerith yelled at the man with the gun arm as she scowled at him.

"I was just sayin'…" Barret stated in a defensive tone.

"No…you're right Barret, and I'm sorry," Tifa apologised. "I'm kind of shocked myself…I feel so depressed…" She admitted as she turned round and looked at the group.

"And Tifa…" Red started to say as he hung his head sadly, "the reason why we all thought it was Cloud was because…"

"I know…" Tifa answered as she walked over to Red and scratched behind his ears. "That's why I have to be sure…that's why I have to see him again."

"Yeah, he's got a lot to answer for," Zack replied as he folded his arms. "Getting us all worried like that."

"Zack…" Aerith admonished, "I'm sure Cloud will be fine," Aerith reassured her friend.

"Tifa…" Cid started to say as he looked at the dark haired woman. "I just want ya to know that I didn't dislike him, gotta admit, he was a strange dude. Just when you thought he was cool he'd go and do some damn foolish thing! And you thought he was smart, he'd show how stupid he was," Cid explained, he then rubbed his chin as he thought about it some more. "Everythin' about him from his movements to his speech was kinda odd," Cid continued. "Knowin' what I do now, I can see why he was that way. Well, as long as ya stay alive you just might see him again, so cheer up sis!" Cid advised Tifa as he laughed.

Tifa smiled weakly as she nodded, "…I'll be able to see him someday…" Tifa repeated what Cid said as her heart was filled with renewed hope.

"But we don't even know where he is," Zack stated realistically, "I don't wish to burst your bubble Tifa but Cloud could be anywhere."

"Zack's right," Cid agreed with his friend. "Cloud could be anywhere, but if we can find out where he is the Highwind will get us there in no time."

"Hmmm…" Aerith mused as she looked out of the window, "what if Cloud was actually still stuck in the Northern Crater, buried deep underground?" Aerith questioned as she turned back to face the others.

"Buried under the Earth…" Tifa repeated, "are you talking about the Life Stream?"

Aerith nodded, "yes," she answered. "Cloud must be in the Life Stream."

"While the Life Stream is normally underground it sometimes gushes out to the surface from cracks in the ocean floor," Red added as he explained the patterns of the Life Stream.

"How did you know that?" Zack asked as he gave the beast a questioning look.

"I read about it," Red answered, "besides, I've heard that such a place exists, maybe…just maybe Cloud's…" Red started to muse but his train of thought was interrupted by the sound of an alarm going off.

"What the hell?!" Zack cursed as the group looked round wondering what all the commotion was.

"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhh! Captain Cid!" One of the pilots yelled in panic.

Cid sighed irritably, "sorry about this everyone," Cid apologised as he ran over to the pilot that was panicking. "But I've gotta show this numbskull how to fly the ship, don't worry, it shouldn't take too long. You guys should prepare yourselves in the meantime."

"I think I'm gonna go outside for a while…" Tifa told the group before leaving the main room.

"Cloud going AWOL has seriously affected her," Zack stated sadly as he watched Tifa leave. "I haven't seen her like this before."

"I know," Aerith agreed with Zack as she walked up to him. "I wish there was something we could do."

"I'll go talk to her," Zack volunteered and he started to walk off.

"I'll go with you," Aerith offered as she started to follow Zack.

Zack stopped and turned to look at Aerith, "I think it's best if I just go." Zack told Aerith as he took hold of her hand. "Me and Tifa, we have an understanding," Zack continued to explain, "besides, other than Tifa I know Cloud better than anyone so I should be the one that talks to Tifa." Zack released Aerith's hand before turning round and walking off, Aerith sighed sadly before listening in on Red and Barret's conversation.

Meanwhile Zack walked back onto the deck and looked around, he could hear the sound of Yuffie retching as she threw up. However, Zack just ignored her as his main concern at the moment was Tifa, he saw Tifa stood at the back of the Highwind looking out. Zack walked up to Tifa and stood next to her. "You doin' ok?" He asked.

Tifa turned her head round and saw Zack, "yeah…" she answered unconvincingly, "I just needed a little fresh air."

Zack gave Tifa a sceptical stare, "who are you tryin' to kid Tifa, me or you?" Zack asked, Tifa sighed sadly as she turned back round to look out again.

"How did it get to this?" Tifa questioned half to herself.

"Cloud wasn't himself," Zack answered, "you know that."

"I know," Tifa replied, "I'm just afraid, what if…what if Cloud's dead?"

"You don't know that for sure," Zack stated as he placed his hand on Tifa's face and gently moved her head so that she was facing him. "For all we know, Cloud could've surfaced. It's just a case of finding him."

"You think it's that easy?" Tifa demanded as she folded her arms, "you think that we'll find him and it'll be ok…"

"Sometimes…we just need to have faith," Zack answered as he tried to reassure the raven haired woman. A single tear escaped her brown eye. "Hey…" Zack called to her as he wiped the tear away from Tifa's face, "come on…cheer up, Cloud could be waiting for you right now."

"Really…" Tifa asked.

"Really," Zack answered as he smiled at Tifa. "We're gonna find Cloud and we're gonna save the world from Meteor, you'll see. It'll turn out alright in the end, it has to, so please cheer up ok. We don't know what's happened to Cloud but he's alive I'm sure of it."

"How can you be so sure?" Tifa questioned as she gave Zack a sceptical stare.

"Because I know in here," Zack answered as he put his hand on his heart. "I know in my heart that Cloud's alive, and I'm sure you do too." Tifa closed her eyes and concentrated as she listened to her heart, it was at that moment that she knew the answer. "You feel him don't you?" Zack asked, "You feel him in your heart. Because he's never left it."

Tifa opened her eyes and nodded, "yeah," she answered. "Cloud's alive, I know he is." Tifa smiled before hugging Zack. "Thanks Zack," she whispered in his ear, "you always know exactly what to say."

"You're welcome," Zack responded as he hugged Tifa back. "That's what friends do, I'll support you in anyway I can and so will everyone else. And Tifa, if you ever need to get something off your chest, you can always talk to me."

"I know," Tifa answered, "and thanks again."

"Any time," Zack replied as he let go of Tifa. "We should head back inside and get ourselves ready," Zack advised, "besides, we need to know where we're going but we could always ask Red, Cait Sith or Cid."

Tifa nodded and she followed Zack back inside the airship again, Aerith greeted them as soon as they entered. "Are you ok?" She asked Tifa.

"Yeah," Tifa replied as she smiled at her friend. "Zack helped me out."

"Yeah, he's good like that," Aerith remarked. "Anyway, me, Red and Barret were talking and Red seems to believe that there is a Life Stream geyser near a small town called Mideel," Aerith informed the two.

"Mideel…" Zack repeated the name, "I've heard that name before. That town is on the southern continent, if there is a Life Stream geyser down there it's more than likely that Cloud has resurfaced there."

"We're heading there now," Aerith told Zack and Tifa. "Cid said we should be there in five minutes."

"Thanks Aerith," Tifa stated gratefully. "We should go back to the navigation room." Zack and Aerith nodded in agreement and the three returned to the navigation room.

Five minutes later the Highwind landed on the beach not too far from the local town, "there it is," Zack remarked as he looked out of the window at the town. "This is just a search and rescue mission, right?" He asked as he looked back at the group.

"Yeah," Barret answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, if that's the case then we won't need everyone there." Zack answered before walking away from the window. "Alright, me, Tifa and Barret are gonna go into town and look for Cloud. The rest of you stay here," Zack ordered.

"I want to come to," Aerith demanded.

Zack sighed, "Aerith, I know you're worried about Cloud," Zack stated as he placed his hands on Aerith's shoulders. "Hell we all are, but I don't think we're gonna be fighting any monsters, we're just gonna find Cloud and come back to the Highwind."

"Ok…" Aerith gave in she couldn't help but sound disappointed.

"We'll try not to be too long," Zack reassured Aerith.

"Just find Cloud," Aerith told Zack.

"We'll try," Zack promised and he kissed Aerith on the lips before turning to Barret and Tifa. "Alright, let's go." Zack commanded, the three were about to leave the navigation room when Cid suddenly spoke up.

"Hey, who kicked the fuckin' bucket and put you in charge?!" Cid demanded.

"No one," Zack answered without looking at the pilot. "But if we're to find Cloud then we need good and competent leadership." Zack then smirked as Cid scowled at him. Zack just ignored Cid as he, Barret and Tifa walked out of the navigation room leaving Cid to think about what Zack had said.

The three went on to the deck and climbed down the rope to the beach, they walked along the beach and entered Mideel when an old man approached them. "Ahoy!" The man greeted enthusiastically, "ain't you a beaut…" the old man stated as he stared at Tifa.

"Hey watch it…or you'll be getting my sword up your ass…" Zack threatened as he grasped his katana tightly.

"Sorry buddy, I don't want any trouble," the old man apologised. "This here's Mideel," the old man quickly changed the subject and Zack loosened his grip on his katana. "It's a quiet little hot springs town, just the perfect place for old folks like us to live out our lives. I hear that things aren't so peaceful on the outside but here it's still nice and quiet."

"We're not here for a vacation," Tifa told the man. "We're here on some important business."

"I see…" The old man stated as he smiled at the group, "Well, I won't keep you."

The old man moved out of the way and the group walked further into the town and looked around. "Shit! I thought Corel was small," Barret remarked as he scratched his head. "I don't think it's even worth splittin' up."

A couple walked passed the group and Zack followed them, "excuse me," he called out to the couple causing them to turn round and look at him. "Have you seen a man named Cloud Strife?" He asked the couple, "He's under six feet about five foot seven, he has spiky hair kind of like mine only blond and bright blue eyes." Zack described.

"Sorry," the man answered as he and his girlfriend shook their heads. "We haven't seen anyone who fits that description."

"Oh…" Zack stated trying to hide his disappointment, "well thanks anyway." He thanked the couple as they walked off, Zack walked back to Barret and Tifa. "They haven't seen him," Zack told his friends as he sighed deeply.

"But, this is a small town," Barret stated, "someone's bound to have seen him."

"Let's just keep looking," Tifa suggested as she walked off, Zack and Barret followed her. They entered every building and asked every person they could find if they had seen Cloud. However after half an hour of fruitless searching the three were back outside again.

Zack sighed as he leaned against the wall of the weapon shop, "this is hopeless, we're not getting anywhere."

"But…we can't give up now," Tifa told her friends as she gave them a pleading look. "Cloud's got to be around here somewhere and I'm not gonna give up until I find him." Before Barret or Zack could say anything Tifa walked off, Barret and Zack sighed before following her. As Tifa got further into town she could hear the sound of whining, she looked down and saw a dog sat there looking up at her. "What's the matter?" Tifa asked the dog, "Are you all alone?" The dog whined again and Tifa knelt down beside it and stroked it behind the ears. "You got lost didn't you? Separated from someone you love…silly thing…" Tifa admonished as she continued to stroke the dog.

"Guess it's been about a week now since he washed up here on the shore," a voice suddenly spoke up. "Poor pokey headed young thing."

"It was really sad…but weird," another voice added. "He was holding this really long sword, I dunno, the whole thing feels unlucky to me. But the amazing thing was those weird blue eyes."

"Huh…" Tifa uttered as she overheard the conversation, she stopped stroking the dog and stood up just as Zack and Barret walked up behind her.

"There you are," Zack stated as Tifa turned round to look at them. "You had us worried…what's wrong?" Zack asked as he saw the look on Tifa's face.

"I think someone's seen Cloud," Tifa answered.

"What?" Barret questioned, "Are you sure?"

"Not really," Tifa admitted, "but it's something I have to find out." Tifa told her two friends and they walked down the path to see two men stood outside a house talking. "Excuse me!" Tifa called out to the men causing them both to stop their conversation and look at the group as they approached them. "That young person you were talking about?" Tifa enquired as she stared hopefully at the men.

"A villager found him a little ways off the coast," one of the men explained. "It was about a week ago I think."

"Yeah, poor kid…" The second man added as he gave the group a sad look. "He must've drifted from somewhere far away."

"Cloud…" Tifa whispered as she thought about what the men were saying and what had happened to Cloud. "It must be…It's Cloud!" Tifa exclaimed excitedly as she jumped up and down on the spot.

"Way to go Tifa!" Zack yelled enthusiastically as he grinned at Tifa and gave her a thumbs up sign.

"I knew ya could find him!" Barret yelled just as enthusiastically as he grabbed Tifa in a one armed hug for a moment before releasing her.

"So where is he?" Tifa asked quickly as she turned her attention back to the two men. "Is he safe? Where is he now?"

"Yeah," one of the men answered, "he's over there at the err clinic." The man told the group as he pointed towards a building at the far side of town.

"He's alive! Cloud…Cloud's alive! Cloud!" Tifa yelled happily as she ran towards the clinic as fast as she could.

"Tifa wait!" Zack called after Tifa but the raven hard woman wasn't listening. Zack sighed, "I have a bad feeling about this…" Zack whispered before looking at Barret, "Come on." Zack and Barret ran towards the clinic and caught up with Tifa and the three of them entered the clinic.

"Cloud!" Tifa called the man's name as she eagerly looked round the room for any sign of Cloud. A doctor looked up from his desk and when he saw the group he approached them.

"Here now," the doctor spoke as he smiled at the group. "The way you're running around here anyone would think that Meteor fell or something."

"I'm sorry," Tifa apologised as she bowed her head slightly. "But we heard that a friend of ours was being taken care of here."

"Friend?" The doctor asked as he gave the group an intrigued look.

"Yeah," Zack answered as he ruffled his hair. "His name is Cloud, he has blond spiky hair, glowing blue eyes."

"Ah yes," the doctor replied as he realised who the group were talking about. "A young fellow fitting that description was brought in a few days ago. Don't worry he's next door, but I'm afraid his condition is…" The doctor trailed off.

"What do you mean?" Zack asked the doctor, "how bad is he?"

The doctor sighed but he said nothing, he moved a curtain to the side and Tifa looked in to the room and saw a nurse taking care of someone in a wheelchair. "Here?" Tifa asked as the doctor nodded, Tifa ran into the room and stood in front of the nurse and the person in the wheelchair. "Cloud?!" Tifa called out, the nurse looked up at Tifa before moving out of the way. Tifa gasped when she saw that the person in the wheelchair was indeed Cloud, Zack and Barret came running into the room and saw Cloud. "Oh Cloud I'm so glad you're safe!" Tifa exclaimed happily as she ran over to Cloud. The blond haired man lifted his head and stared blankly at Tifa before falling back down again. "Cloud…" Tifa whispered the man's name as she gave him a questioning look.

"Uh…ah…" Cloud moaned as his head bobbed up and down again.

"Wh…what's wrong Cloud?" Tifa stammered as she gave Cloud a concerned look.

"A…gurk…" Cloud moaned again as he lifted his head up and looked round the room with a blank expression on his face.

"Cloud…what happened to you?" Tifa whispered half to Cloud and half to herself.

Zack walked over to the doctor, "what's wrong with him doc?" Zack asked as he pointed at Cloud. "How did he end up in this condition?"

The doctor sighed sadly as he folded his arms, "Mako poisoning…quite an advanced case. It appears this young man's been exposed to a high level of Mako energy for a prolonged period of time." The doctor explained gravely as he pointed at Cloud, "he probably has no idea of who he is or where he is now…Poor fellow, his voice doesn't even work. He is literally miles away from us, some place far away where no one's ever been…all alone…"

Zack sighed as he folded his arms, "I knew there was something wrong…" He whispered sadly, "As soon as those two men mentioned clinic I knew there was something not right…I just…didn't think it would be this bad."

"No way!" Barret yelled as his hand was balled into a fist, "you must have it wrong!"

"No he doesn't," Zack stated gravely as he gave Barret and Tifa a grave look. "The signs are all there."

Tifa knelt down beside Cloud and placed her hands on top of his, "Cloud…" Tifa called out his name hoping that it would snap him out of his comatose state. However Cloud continued to stare blankly at Tifa as his head bobbed up and down. Tifa kept on trying to reach out to Cloud but still nothing happened, in the end Tifa rested her head on Cloud's lap and started to cry. "Why…" Tifa questioned tearfully as her hands shook, "what do you want me to do? Please Cloud…talk to me…tell me you see me…that you can hear me…tell me please…" Tifa begged the blond haired man as she continued to cry.

Zack and Barret looked sadly at each other and then at Tifa. _"Wow…I haven't seen Tifa cry like that since I found her wounded in the Nibelheim reactor…" _Zack thought to himself as he walked over to Tifa, he knelt down beside her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Tifa…" Zack called out the woman's name causing her to look up at him with her tear stained face.

"Oh Zack…" Tifa cried as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "What am I going to do? I can't get through to him…"

"These things take time," Zack stated encouragingly as he patted Tifa's shoulder. "I know you're upset right now, it's upsetting for me and Barret as well. But you can't give up."

"I know," Tifa agreed as she nodded. "Can you try for a while?" Tifa requested, "Maybe if you try it as well it might bring him back."

"Sure," Zack replied, Tifa moved out of the way and Zack knelt in front of Cloud. "Cloud…buddy…" Zack spoke to Cloud in a soft voice. "It's me Zack, please say something, we're all worried about you. Especially Tifa so please…talk to us." Zack waited for a moment, Cloud continued to stare blankly at him. "Come on Cloud," Zack tried again to reach out to Cloud. "Come back to us…come back to Tifa…" Zack tried to reach out to Cloud for five whole minutes but still he got nowhere. Zack sighed as he stood up and walked away from Cloud, Tifa returned to Cloud and cried into his chest.

"I think it's best if we leave them alone for a while," the doctor suggested. "Besides, I need a word with both of you in private."

"Sure," Zack replied, the doctor walked out of the room and Zack and Barret followed him.

Tifa looked up at Cloud again her face was still tear stained, "I came this far believing in the memories we had together…" Tifa stated sadly as several tear drops landed on Cloud's lap. "This isn't happening…this is too cruel…" Tifa sobbed as she shook her head. "Cloud I…" Tifa started to say but she hesitated wondering if it was even the right thing to say. She sighed sadly as she resumed crying into Cloud's chest.

Meanwhile, Barret and Zack were talking to the doctor outside the clinic. "Be honest with us doc, will Cloud…will he ever get better?" Zack asked wondering about how bad Cloud's condition was.

The doctor folded his arms as he looked at Zack and Barret. "I'll say it again…" he replied a little irritably. "He's got Mako poisoning, I've never seen a case this bad…An immense amount of Mako-drenched knowledge was put into his brain all at once…"

Zack sighed, "brings back memories…" he muttered to himself barely above a whisper so that Barret and the doctor couldn't hear him.

"No normal human could've survived it," the doctor continued not hearing Zack's remark. "It's a miracle he did."

"No wonder…after fallin' into the Life Stream an' bein' washed up…" Barret commented as he gave the doctor a grave look.

"That would screw anyone's head up," Zack added as he agreed with Barret.

"Just remember the light of hope can be found anywhere," the doctor stated reassuringly before sighing. "Listen, if you give up hope…what's going to happen to him?"

Barret sighed and he turned away from the doctor. "Hope…" Barret repeated in a frustrated tone, "Hey, honestly man! Do I really want Cloud to come back?" Barret questioned a little nastily.

"Barret!" Zack yelled at his friend as he glared at him. "I'm sorry about my friend doc," Zack apologised to the doctor as he looked at him. "He's really worried about Cloud, he's just not very good at showing it…" Zack finished through gritted teeth as he glared at Barret again.

Barret sighed and he looked at Zack. "Think about it Zack! What has Cloud done for the world huh?" Barret questioned with a hint of vehemence in his voice. "What can he do for us for here on out? He may be nothin' more than Sephiroth's shadow…"

"Is there something wrong?" The doctor asked as he gave Barret a concerned stare. Barret turned round to face the doctor.

"No…nothin'," Barret answered lying through his teeth, "nothin' at all doc…"

Zack scowled at Barret and was about to speak when Tifa walked out of the clinic. The three men turned round and saw her. "Tifa…" Zack uttered as the raven haired woman walked over to them. "You doin' ok?"

"Yeah," Tifa answered as she nodded. "I'm sorry I had you both worried," she apologised to her two friends. "There's something I have to tell you," Tifa stated as she walked back into the clinic. Zack, Barret and the doctor followed her and entered the room that Cloud was in, Tifa walked over to Cloud and she had her back to the group. She sighed before beginning, "right now…I don't care about anything else, only Cloud." Tifa told her friends as she turned round to face them a few tears in her eyes. "I…I want to be by his side."

"That's understandable Tifa," Zack stated reassuringly as he smiled at her. "I'd be the same if I was in your position."

"Yeah…that's probably for the best…" Barret added as he agreed with the raven haired woman, "for you and for Cloud."

Tifa said nothing but she nodded sadly, however she refused to lift her head and she stared at the floor trying hard not to cry again. "I'm sorry everyone…at a time like this…" she apologised sadly as she looked up at her friends.

"You don't have to apologise," Zack told Tifa kindly as he walked up to her and took hold of her hand. "You just do what you have to do and we'll come by and visit." Zack promised as he hugged Tifa before moving away.

Barret also walked up to Tifa and hugged her, "just take care of yerself kiddo, and take care of Cloud too." Barret stated as he released Tifa and stepped away from her.

Tifa nodded as she smiled weakly at Barret and Zack, "right…" she replied before turning round and tending to Cloud.

Zack and Barret were about to walk out of the clinic but something was eating away at Barret's mind and he stopped. "Tifa…" Barret called out the woman's name causing her stop what she was doing and look at him. "I don't like askin' this but…" Barret continued to ask choosing his words carefully. "Is he really your childhood friend and not Sephiroth's shadow?"

Tifa sighed before looking at Cloud, "well…that is…" Tifa stammered as she tried to think about what to say, about what to believe. In the end she shook her head, "no, I'm sure of it!" She answered more confidently as she smiled at Cloud.

Barret nodded, "yeah…ok then…sorry for askin' that." Barret apologised.

"It's ok," Tifa answered as she continued to tend to Cloud.

"We better head back," Zack told Tifa. "And don't worry, we'll take care of Meteor you just focus on Cloud." Zack advised before he and Barret left the clinic and made their way back to the Highwind.

Back on the Highwind everyone was gathered in the navigation room when Barret and Zack entered. "What happened?" Aerith asked, "Is Cloud alright? Where's Tifa?"

Zack sighed sadly as he shook his head, "Cloud has Mako poisoning," he told the group. "And it's really bad as well, Tifa stayed behind to look after him."

Barret sighed as he walked over to the window and looked out, Zack leaned against the wall. "What are we gonna do?" Barret asked half to himself. "What can WE do?" Barret continued to question as he turned round and stared at the group. "Ain't there anythin' we can do? And don't go tellin' us to wait until Cloud gets better!" Barret yelled as he glared at Zack in particular.

"I wasn't gonna say anything," Zack stated as he pushed himself off the wall. "I just think we need to look at our options and decide what's the best thing to do."

"Well, I've got some news," Cait Sith told the group as he stood up on the control panel he was on.

"What… you're gonna tell us you're a spy…" Barret muttered sarcastically causing Cait Sith to scowl at him.

"Yeah…I already told you I was…" Cait Sith retorted, "but anyway, Gya ha ha and Kya ha ha are up to something?" Cait Sith informed the group, "Wanna eavesdrop…" Cait Sith asked as he grinned.

"I do love a bit of gossip, especially at a time like this…" Zack muttered sarcastically as he and the rest of the group approached Cait Sith.

"Why don't we just listen?" Vincent suggested as he folded his arms. "It might tell us something useful." Static rippled through Cait Sith and some voices began to talk on Cait Sith's inbuilt radio.

* * *

Meanwhile in the Shinra building Rufus was holding a meeting with the executives, Heidegger and Palmer were sat at the table and Reeve was stood in the corner leaning against the wall. Rufus was stood at the head of the table flipping his hair. "Now then…" Rufus began as he looked at his executives. "We're faced with two issues…one, destroy Meteor and two, remove the barrier round the Northern Cave and defeat Sephiroth…any ideas?" Rufus asked as he pointed at the executives.

"Gya haah hah hah!" Heidegger laughed loudly, "We already solved the first problem! Meteor will soon be smashed to bits, the plan has already been put into action. Namely collecting Huge Materia from each region." Heidegger explained his plan.

"Well…" Rufus started to say, unsure about Heidegger's plan but before he could really voice his concerns Scarlet entered the room.

"Huge Materia is a high density special type of Materia made through a special compression process in Mako reactors." Scarlet explained as she spread her arms out wide for emphasis. "The energy extracted from it is 330 times the strength of normal materia, ha, ha, ha! How about that?" Scarlet laughed loudly as she folded her arms and grinned at the others. "We will gather all the Huge Materia together and ram it into Meteor," she proposed as she looked at Rufus. "That will cause a huge explosion! Reducing Meteor literally to bits!"

"You're going to ram Meteor?" Rufus questioned as he stared at Scarlet in shock. "Do you think we have the technology to do it?"

"Don't worry about that!" Scarlet scoffed as she put Rufus' worries to rest. "More importantly we've got to collect Huge Materia from each area."

"We've already collected materia from Nibelheim," Heidegger added. "All that's left is Corel and Fort Condor, I've already dispatched troops to Corel, Gya ha ha!" Heidegger laughed loudly.

* * *

The group stared at Cait Sith in shock when they heard the whole conversation, "Corel…" Barret uttered hardly daring to believe what he had heard. "What else can they do to Corel?!"

"And the Huge Materia…I've heard of it, when our small materia is near the larger one something should happen I'm sure of it." Red explained.

"And that's why we're using the power of materia in our fight," Aerith added as she clasped her hands together as though she was in prayer.

"Well, we can't let the Shinra get their paws on it," Zack stated as he folded his arms. "Who knows what would happen if they do…"

"Yeah, and I can't wait to see the look on Cloud's face when we show him that Huge Materia," Barret added as he banged his gun arm on the railing near the window. "He's sure as hell gonna be shocked."

"So…you really want Cloud to come back…" Zack asked as he gave Barret a questioning stare, "even though you're always bad mouthin' him…"

"I ain't sayin' nothin' about nothin'!" Barret yelled as he glared at Zack. "So just shut the fuck up!"

"I was just asking…" Zack stated in an offended tone. "Look, we're gonna need a new leader, at least until Cloud gets better."

"And that leader should be me," Barret cut in as he pointed at himself before sighing. "At least…that's what I wanna believe, but I ain't cut out to be a leader…and I didn't realise that until recently." Barret sighed as he hung his head.

"How about Cid?" Zack suggested as everyone looked in the pilot's direction. Cid was slumped on the floor asleep and snoring loudly. Zack sighed and rolled his eyes before kicking Cid in the stomach.

"Huh...what, who, what, where?!" Cid yelled in panic as he woke up suddenly and looked all around him.

"Congratulations Cid, you're the new leader," Zack cheerfully told the pilot as he shook his head to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"Pain in the ass forget it!" Cid yelled as he leapt to his feet and glared at the group.

"But Cid if we're to fight we need the Highwind," Barret argued as he tried to persuade Cid. "And you're controllin' the Highwind, this airship is gonna save the planet."

"Hmmm…" Cid thought as he rubbed his chin, "I haven't thought of it that way…but…no…I can't it's too much responsibility. You guys can use the Highwind but I ain't gonna be your leader…" Cid stated stubbornly as he folded his arms. "No…what we need is someone who's had experience bein' a leader…what we need is an ex SOLDIER…" Cid continued before looking at Zack. "Zack, why don't you be the new leader?"

"Me…" Zack uttered in surprise as he took a few paces back.

"Sure, you can do it!" Aerith reassured Zack as she wrapped her arms round Zack's neck and kissed him on the cheek. "You've had so much experience of being a leader in your SOLDIER days."

"But I…" Zack started to say.

"No arguments boy!" Cid interrupted as he pointed a finger at Zack, "you're our new leader and that's the end of it."

Zack sighed, "Fine…I'll do it…" Zack gave in as the group cheered. "Alright…we need to think of how to do this."

"Why don't we go to Corel first get the Huge Materia there and then go to Fort Condor," Barret suggested but Zack shook his head.

"No," Zack replied as he paced round the navigation room. "The Shinra will have no doubt dispatched troops to both places, by the time we get the Huge Materia in Corel they may have already got the Huge Materia in Fort Condor." Zack told the group, "No…we need to kill two birds with one stone."

"Are you suggesting we go to both places at the same time?" Red asked intrigued by Zack's decision.

"It makes perfect sense," Zack answered as he looked at the beast. "Ok, me, Barret, Cid and Aerith will go to Corel, the rest of you will go to Fort Condor." Zack ordered, "The Highwind will drop everyone else off at Fort Condor first then it will drop us off at Corel. Don't let the Shinra get hold of the Huge Materia whatever you do." Zack warned.

"Alright you lowly maggots!" Cid yelled at the pilots, "Y'all heard the man our next destination is Fort Condor and then Corel!"

"Yes sir!" The pilots shouted in unison and the Highwind made its way to Fort Condor, the airship hovered over the grass near the mountain and Vincent, Yuffie, Cait Sith and Red got off the Highwind and made their way up the mountain.

The Highwind then took off and headed for Corel, when it arrived it landed at the bottom of Mount Corel. The remaining members of Avalanche got off the Highwind and climbed up the mountain. After a while they reached the old reactor. "Phew…" Zack heaved a huge sigh of relief, "we made it."

The group suddenly heard a noise, they quickly hid behind some rocks and looked in the direction of the reactor just in time to see the reactor doors opening and a coal train coming out of the reactor and going down the track. "That's a train…" Aerith whispered as she pointed at the train. "And there's the Huge Materia…"

Barret sighed, "we're never gonna get it now…" he stated pessimistically.

"Never say never Barret," Zack replied before turning invisible. Zack crept out of the group's hiding place and silently made his way to the reactor. Several guards were patrolling the entrance, Zack crept up to the guards patrolling the door being careful not to breathe too loudly. He crept up to one of the guards and quickly took his katana out of its sheath and quickly struck the guard with it. The guard stood there stunned for a moment before his head fell clean off and his body slumped to the floor lifeless. The other guard saw this and he ran towards his dead comrade trying to figure out how he was decapitated. Zack crept behind the second guard and stabbed the guy in the back. The man looked down to see a gaping hole in his stomach before slumping to the ground dead. Zack removed the katana from the man wiped the blood onto the guard's uniform. Zack quickly disposed of the other guards before turning visible again, "ok guys, the coast is clear!" Zack called out to his team mates and they all ran over to him.

"Did you have to be so violent?" Aerith asked as she saw the headless body and the body with a hole through it plus several other maimed bodies.

"I couldn't resist," was all Zack said as Aerith rolled her eyes.

"Come on!" Cid called out to his friends, "we gotta find somethin' we can use to catch up to that train!" Cid with the help of Zack opened the Reactor doors and Cid ran inside. A minute later Cid came out of the Reactor inside a steam train. "Jump on!" Cid yelled to the group as they jumped onto the train. The train sped down the track.

"Are you sure you can drive this thing?" Barret asked as he stared at Cid.

"I'm sure," Cid answered, "I can handle this sort of stuff…two levers…one on the left, one on the right…" Cid uttered as he examined the two levers and began to pull on them alternating between levers. This caused the train to go faster, "I see…I just alternate between the levers," Cid explained as he continued to alternate the levers. "Now…judgin' by the enemy's speed, I'd say it will take about ten minutes." Cid predicted as he looked at his watch.

"We've got ten minutes to get the Huge Materia," Zack stated as he stood up. "No problem." Cid continued to alternate between the levers and the train moved faster and faster and it wasn't long until the group saw the other steam train speeding along on the track below them. "This is it!" Zack called out to his friends as the wind blew passed him. "We gotta jump on the train and get the Huge Materia!"

"We won't make that jump!" Aerith yelled as she looked at the distance. Zack grabbed hold of Aerith's hand and the two jumped to the other train with Barret and Cid following suit.

The four of them landed safely on the back of the other train, they were about to run on to the next carriage when several guns were pointed at them. "Freeze!" A Shinra commander yelled at the group.

"Sure…whatever you say…" Zack mocked as ice flared in his hands and he fired two beams of ice at the guards freezing them. Zack then charged at the frozen guards causing them to shatter into a million pieces. (**A/N even though Zack is currently in his human form he can still use some of his drag human abilities.**) The group moved on to the next carriage and the ground under them shook as a giant robot wielding a giant sword approached them. "My what a big sword you have…" Zack mocked the robot as it lifted its sword up and slammed it down, fortunately Zack rolled out of the way just in time. Aerith used a lightning spell on the robot completely short circuiting it. Zack then took his katana out and quickly slashed the robot cutting it in half. The two halves fell off the train, "nice," Zack complimented Aerith.

"Thanks," Aerith replied gratefully.

The group jumped from carriage to carriage and destroying any enemy that got in their way. They eventually reached the front of the train where a lone Shinra guard was driving the train. "Stop the train!" Barret ordered as he pointed his gun arm at the guard's back.

"What the…" The guard uttered as he turned round and saw the group, "y…you guys!"

"You heard the man," Zack stated calmly as he grinned showing the man his fangs. "Stop the train and hand over the Huge Materia."

"No way!" The guard refused, "my bosses would kill me if they found out I gave you guys the Huge Materia."

"Well, I guess you didn't realise that we'd kill you," Zack retorted. "Go ahead Barret."

Barret smirked, "it would be my pleasure," he replied and he pumped the guard full of bullets. The guard fell to the floor dead and Cid threw the guard's body off the train before jumping down to the controls.

"I must admit we've got a lot of guts…jumpin' on a runaway train," Cid remarked. "I guess all that's left to do is stop it." Cid looked at the controls before pushing both the levers forwards. However that didn't work and the train began to gain speed.

"Cid!" Aerith yelled as she and the others tried to hold on tight. "We want to stop the train not speed it up!"

"Make it stop Cid!" Zack yelled at the pilot.

"Shut the fuck up and let me think!" Cid snapped at the group as he looked at the levers. "Hmmm…maybe if I pulled them the other way…" Cid thought and he pulled both the levers back as hard as he could. Unfortunately he pulled them so hard that the levers snapped.

"You fuckin' asshole!" Barret cursed as he glared at Cid, "you broke the levers now there's no way we're gonna stop this train!"

"We're going to crash into North Corel!" Aerith yelled as she continued to hold on for dear life.

"We can't crash into Corel!" Barret shouted desperately, "if we do the town would be even more destroyed than it already is!"

Zack looked out in front of him, "I guess it's up to me," he stated.

"Zack…you're not gonna stop the train yourself are you?" Aerith asked her voice was filled with concern.

"I don't have any other choice," Zack answered. "If I don't then hundreds of people are gonna die, including us."

Aerith continued to protest but Zack was beyond listening he closed his eyes and remembered what Vincent had told him before. _"The first transformation is always the hardest," _Vincent's voice echoed in Zack's mind. _"But after that it is easy to switch between forms at will." _Zack closed his eyes even tighter and focused all his energy, his skin changed from flesh coloured to purple and his muscle mass grew slightly bigger. His wings emerged out of the slits and folded into his back and his tail grew out of his backside.

Zack opened his eyes and he saw that he was in his drag human form again. "Zack…" Aerith called out to Zack, "don't even think about it…"

"Never do…" Zack stated with a slight smirk as he leapt off the train, he opened his wings in midair to increase his jumping distance. (**A/N, this part is a parody of Fantastic Four when Susan tells her brother Johnny not to think about jumping off a building to which he replies "never do" before jumping off said building. I don't own this quote it belongs to its respective owner.**) Zack landed feet first on the train track and watched as the train sped towards him. "I hope this works…" Zack uttered as he closed his eyes and held his hands out ready to stop the train. "I think I'll be feeling this for a while…" Zack continued to talk to himself as he waited for the train.

Zack's body jerked slightly as the train sped into his outstretched hands. Zack took in a deep breath as he used all his strength to push against the train to slow it down. It was hard work as the train was incredibly heavy and beads of sweat poured down Zack's face, the drag human had to keep digging his feet into the track as the train kept pushing him backwards. Zack kept looking back with a worried expression on his face as the train got nearer and nearer to North Corel. _"Damn…I don't think this train's gonna stop…" _Zack thought sadly to himself but he kept on trying nevertheless.

After a while the train began to slow down and screeched to a halt just at the entrance of North Corel narrowly missing the town. Zack opened his eyes and saw that the train had stopped before sighing with relief. Aerith, grabbed the Huge Materia out of the front of the train before she Barret and Cid jumped off. "Zack you did it!" Aerith exclaimed excitedly as she hugged Zack and kissed him on the lips. Zack breathed deeply as he stepped away from the train and reverted to his human form, Aerith was holding on to Zack to stop him from falling. "We got the Huge Materia," Aerith told the drag human as she showed him the giant orb.

"Nice…" Zack muttered as he gave Aerith a thumbs up sign.

The four walked into town when the people of Corel approached them. "Aren't you the guys that stopped the Shinra train?" One of the men asked.

"That's right," Zack stated as he continued to breathe deeply.

"We're eternally grateful to y'all," the man replied as the people of Corel cheered. "The Shinra were tryin' to destroy our lives again. I know this place is nothin' but a pile of junk but it's the only home we've got."

"Of…of course…" Barret stated as he gave the guy a sympathetic look. "We're all born and raised in the coal mines, no matter how tough it gets our hearts burn bright red like coal."

"To hell with Meteor!" The man yelled and all the townspeople yelled and cheered in unison as they raised their spades. "We're coal miners ain't we? We'll dig a deep tunnel and hide from Meteor!"

A small boy holding a glowing green stone approached the group, "I…I found this down a well," the boy told the group as he held out the piece of materia. "Isn't it an amazing rock?"

"It sure is," Aerith stated as she looked at the materia.

"You guys can keep it, my way of saying thanks for saving the town," the boy stated as he held the materia out to Aerith.

Aerith knelt down and the boy gave her the materia, "thank you," Aerith replied gratefully as she accepted the gift. "We'll take good care of it." The boy nodded and he moved away from the group, Aerith stood up again and put the new materia into her materia pouch.

"You all look exhausted from your battle," a woman spoke up as she examined the group. "Why don't you rest at the inn, free of charge."

"Thanks for the offer," Zack stated kindly. "But we've got a lot of work to do and some friends to pick up." The woman nodded to show that she understood and the townspeople waved the group off as they made their way back to the Highwind.

The Highwind took off and made its way back to Fort Condor to pick up Vincent, Yuffie, Cait Sith and Red. The four returned to the Highwind triumphant. "We got the Huge Materia!" Yuffie yelled excitedly as she showed the rest of the group the Huge Materia from Fort Condor.

"So we now have two Huge Materia in our possession," Red stated as he stared at the two giant stones. "What now?" Red asked as he stared at Zack.

"Well, the Shinra will be on high alert for a while," Zack stated as he rubbed his chin. "I think it'll be a good idea if we lay low for a while. I think it's time we paid an old friend a visit."

"You mean Cloud…" Aerith questioned as she stared at Zack.

"Yeah," Zack answered, "I promised Tifa that we'd pay them a visit and see how Cloud is. Besides, I'm worried about Tifa as well. Looking after Cloud has probably started to take its toll on her," Zack stated as he grew increasingly concerned for the friends they had left behind. "We should go to Mideel and see how they're both doing."

"Alright you jackasses!" Cid yelled at the pilots again. "We're headin' to Mideel to visit some old friends so step on it or I'll step on you!"

"Yes sir!" The pilots yelled again and rushed about the navigation room and fiddling with the controls. The Highwind took off again and made its way to Mideel.

Zack was stood at the window at the front of the navigation room and stared out in front of him. _"I hope Cloud and Tifa are ok," _Zack thought to himself as he sighed and he couldn't help but think that danger might be waiting for them at the peaceful coastal town. But he put that thought to the back of his mind as his main concern was Cloud and Tifa. Zack hoped against hope that they were safe as the Highwind flew closer and closer to Mideel.

* * *

**Finally chapter 14 is complete, sorry it's been a while I've just been busy with other things. It's not as long as the previous chapters but I decided to type a shorter one. Chapter 15 will be on the way as soon as I can find time to type it. Just a reminder that Final Fantasy VII and its characters and contents don't belong to me they belong to Square Enix. The film Titanic belongs to 20****th**** Century Fox, the film Pirates of the Caribbean belongs to Disney. Fantastic Four belongs to Marvel comics. **


	15. The Huge Materia and Cid's Dream

**Chapter 15: The Huge Materia and Cid's Dream**

It had been a several hours since the group had stopped the Shinra troops in Fort Condor and Corel and received two Huge Materia as a reward for their efforts. The Highwind had since landed outside Mideel, Zack sighed before moving from his spot by the window. "Barret, Cid, come with me. The rest of you stay here," Zack ordered firmly as he walked out on to the deck with Barret and Cid following him.

The three men entered the town and the dog from earlier walked slowly up to them, its ears were drooped and its eyes were large and sad. Zack knelt down and stroked the dog behind the ears, "you're still lonely aren't you boy?" Zack asked the dog, the dog looked up at Zack and rested its head on his knee. Zack stroked the dog again one more time before he stood up and he, Barret and Cid made their way to the clinic. The three entered the clinic and saw the doctor looking at some paperwork. "Hey doc," Zack spoke up causing the doctor to look up at him.

"You're one of the fellows that came in with the young lady earlier," the doctor stated as he smiled at Zack.

"Yeah," Zack replied. "How's Cloud doing?" Zack asked filled with concern about his friend.

The doctor stood up and walked up to the group, "I'm very sorry," he apologised as he gave Zack, Barret and Cid a solemn look. "I'm afraid your friend's condition hasn't changed."

Zack, Barret and Cid looked at each other sadly. "Shit!" Cid cursed loudly as he kicked the desk leg in frustration. "I wish he'd make up his fuckin' mind!"

Zack and Barret scowled at the pilot and the doctor tried hard to compose himself. "You must all be patient," the doctor advised them. "These things take time."

"Time…" Zack repeated the last word the doctor said. "Time's exactly what we don't have, Meteor's still up there."

"How's Tifa?" Barret asked quickly moving the subject away from Meteor.

"She's holding on," the doctor answered as he sighed sadly. "Poor girl hasn't left his side since you went, she keeps talking to him, reassuring him. Trying to reach out to him, but alas nothing has worked and yet she still keeps trying," the doctor continued to explain. "I admire her patience and her courage but if she carries on like this…" The doctor didn't need to finish his sentence as the three men knew what he meant.

"If she carries on like this she's gonna make herself ill," Zack stated a hint of sadness in his voice. "Poor Tifa, maybe we should go in there take the weight off her shoulders for a while."

"Why don't you go in…" Barret suggested as he looked at Zack. "You know Cloud and Tifa better than any of us, besides…I wouldn't know what to say."

Zack stared at Barret for a moment before nodding, "yeah," Zack stated as he agreed with Barret. "Don't worry, I'll make sure she's ok." Zack moved the curtain and entered the next room, he saw Cloud sat in the wheelchair his head still bobbing up and down. He also saw Tifa kneeling down beside him her hands were on top of Cloud's.

"Please Cloud…" Tifa whispered to the sick man, "Please…say something…"

Zack sighed as he heard this and he walked over to Tifa. "Tifa…" Zack gently called out the woman's name causing her turn round and look up at him. Her face was pale and there were shadows under her eyes like she hadn't slept at all, her face was also tinged with red from crying. "How is he?" Zack asked as he looked down at Cloud who was staring vacantly into space.

Tifa shook her head, "his condition hasn't changed since you left." Tifa answered sadly as she looked back at Cloud.

"Yeah," Zack replied as he ruffled his hair. "The doc did say that there was no change in Cloud's condition." Zack knelt down beside Tifa, "how are you?" He asked as he smiled kindly at her.

Tifa turned her head round to look at him. "I'm coping," was all she said. Tifa remained silent for a while just looking at Cloud and stroking his blond hair. "I keep talking to him…" Tifa spoke up again not looking at Zack. "I think that maybe if he heard a familiar voice it might bring him back…maybe…he'd start talking again…" Tifa sighed and she sniffed up trying to stop herself from crying.

"It's not a weakness to cry you know," Zack stated as Tifa continued to sniff up. "I won't think any less of you if you do."

"I know…" Tifa sobbed quietly, she then looked at Zack again. "Zack…" she stopped for a moment and sighed thinking of what to say. "Do you…do you think that Cloud is Sephiroth's shadow?"

"Huh…" Zack questioned as he gave Tifa a confused stare. "I don't follow you…"

"Do you think that Cloud was created purely to be Sephiroth's puppet?" Tifa put the question another way.

"Why would you even ask that?" Zack asked not taking his eyes off Tifa, one eyebrow was raised slightly as his look of confusion turned to an intrigued one. "I thought you didn't believe that."

"I didn't…" Tifa answered sadly as she turned back to look at Cloud. "It's just now I'm not so sure…what do you believe?"

Zack sighed, "It's not really my place to say," was all he said. "Because I don't really know."

"But what do you believe?" Tifa asked again as she gave him an inquisitive stare.

Zack sighed again and closed his eyes as he thought about what he could say. "I believe…" Zack started to say as he opened his eyes again and looked straight ahead at the sick man in front of him. "I believe that the man sat in front of us is the real Cloud," Zack continued not taking his eyes off Cloud. "I believe that he is the man that you grew up with and that he's the man that I befriended in SOLDIER." Zack turned his head round and looked at Tifa who was clearly crying now, Zack smiled weakly as memories of Cloud entered his mind.

"It's funny how one man can mean so much to many people, you, me, the others, he meant so much to all of us." Zack continued to explain completely unaware that Barret and Cid were listening in on the other side of the curtain. "He meant a lot to you, that made him your Cloud. He meant a lot to me too, and that made him my Cloud, it makes him our Cloud. We have so many memories of him and no clone, no shadow could ever replace that, because Cloud's in our hearts."

Tifa nodded to show that she understood what Zack was saying, for a while neither spoke they just looked at Cloud with a combination of admiration and sympathy for their friend. "I think I understand what you're saying," Tifa eventually broke the silence she looked at Zack for a moment before sighing and looking down.

"What's wrong?" Zack asked as he gave Tifa a concerned look.

"I'm scared Zack," Tifa admitted without looking up. "What if…what if Cloud never recovers? What if he remains like this for the rest of his life."

"We don't know that for sure," Zack answered as he knelt down and placed his hand under Tifa's chin and gently lifted her face upwards. "It's early days yet, he could make a full recovery and even if he doesn't. You don't have to take care of him by yourself," Zack stated reassuringly. "Me, Aerith and everyone else will help out too. So come on, no more tears huh…it won't do Cloud any good." Tifa smiled weakly and Zack smiled back, "there we go, there's the Tifa we all know and love."

Tifa sighed as she looked at Zack, admittedly when she first met Zack five years ago she had disliked him. She thought back to when she was injured in Nibelheim and how she turned away from Zack with fear and disgust when he tried to help her.

_"I hate it...I hate Shinra...SOLDIER and you!" _Tifa's harsh words echoed in her head as she remembered that fateful day.

_"Zack was just being friendly...and...I...pushed him away..." _Tifa thought guiltily in her head. _"He tried to help me when I was injured but...I told him I hated him...even now...after what I said to him all those years ago he still wants to help me...I was such a bitch to him...I think...I should apologize."_

Tifa sighed again, "Zack...there's something I wanted to say," Tifa spoke up.

"What is it?" Zack questioned as he stared inquisitively at Tifa.

"I...I wanted to apologize for the way I treated you in Nibelheim," Tifa stated apologetically.

"Oh...that..." Zack uttered in shock, "I'd forgotten all about it."

"Really..." Tifa questioned.

"You had every right to not trust me...I was working with the Shinra," Zack answered kindly.

"It doesn't excuse the way I treated you," Tifa responded. "You were so nice to me and I threw it back in your face...you're a good person Zack and...Aerith's a lucky woman."

"You have nothing to apologize for, but if it makes you feel any better I accept your apology," Zack told Tifa.

Zack and Tifa stood up, Tifa was about to respond to what Zack said but the ground shook violently causing Tifa to fall. Fortunately Zack caught her before she fell to the floor. "What's happening?" Tifa questioned as she stared at Zack.

"I'm not sure," Zack answered as he released Tifa. "Stay here with Cloud, I'm gonna check it out." Tifa nodded and Zack walked through the curtain and back into the reception area of the clinic where, Barret, Cid the doctor and the nurse were stood.

"Please tell me you felt that too…" Barret remarked as Zack walked passed him.

"Yeah, I think the whole town felt it," Zack answered as he stopped at the entrance to the clinic.

"It was probably just a bloody earthquake," Cid stated but Zack shook his head.

"No," Zack replied as he turned round and looked back at his two comrades. "It's something else, something's not right here…I can feel it." Zack walked out of the clinic and Barret and Cid followed him.

The three looked around the town and saw that all the villagers had left the streets and entered the buildings. As Zack, Barret and Cid took a few steps forward the ground began to shake even more violently than before. "What the fuck?" Cid cursed as he, Zack and Barret braced themselves to avoid falling over.

"This is a Life Stream hotspot," Zack answered as he felt the Life Stream flowing below the ground. "It's gushing to the surface…" The three covered their ears as they heard the Planet's shrill cries of pain. "The Planet's crying out in pain…" Zack continued much more desperately as the Planet continued to cry. "That's so not good."

Tifa ran out of the clinic, "what's going on?" She yelled to the group.

The three turned round to face Tifa, "it's ok Tifa!" Zack reassured the raven haired woman, "just get back inside, we'll take care of it." Tifa nodded and went back inside the clinic.

Zack, Barret and Cid ran off, as they entered the town square they could hear loud roars. The three looked up and saw a giant black dragon like creature flying over the town. "Weapon!" The three yelled in unison as the monster got closer to the town.

"Why the fuck did it have to show up now?" Cid demanded.

"I guess it's up to us to kick its ass!" Zack yelled, the three men readied their weapons just as Weapon hovered above the ground for a second before landing in front of the group with a mighty thud. Weapon roared loudly at the three men stood in front of it and banged its feet on the ground creating seismic waves which travelled through the ground and knocked the group off balance.

Zack, Barret and Cid staggered to their feet and glared at the monster.

"!" Barret yelled at the top of his lungs as he pumped the monster with bullets from his gun arm. However the bullets ricocheted off Weapon's armour, Barret just stared in shock.

"Great job Barret…" Cid muttered sarcastically as the group ducked to avoid Weapon's beam attack. "Were yer aimin' to kill it or tickle it?" Barret scowled at the pilot.

"Guys!" Zack yelled, "If we're to beat this thing we have to work together!" Weapon roared again and stomped the ground but the group were ready for it this time and braced themselves. "We've gotta get rid of its armour first," Zack started to form a strategy as he closed his eyes and went into his drag human form. "Me and Cid will get up close and destroy its armour, once we've destroyed the armour Barret can then pump it full of lead." The other two men nodded and Zack and Cid readied their weapons, Weapon roared and charged forwards, Zack reached out and grabbed it by the horns. The monster was surprised at first but it started to shake its head wildly aiming to throw Zack off it. Zack however was holding his own, he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as beads of sweat poured down his face.

The monster and the drag human continued to wrestle each other for some time. Eventually with a yell and a sudden burst of strength Zack was able to subdue the monster by slamming it stomach first into the ground shattering its chest armour. The monster roared loudly but it was too stunned to move, Cid saw his chance and his spear glowed with energy. Cid ran at the monster dragging his spear behind him he then leapt into the air and thrust his spear underneath him. "!" Cid let out a battle cry as he stabbed the spear deep into Weapon's back cracking the armour. The monster roared again and shook itself violently trying to get Cid off it. "Whoa!" Cid yelled as he held on tightly to his spear to stop himself from falling off.

Weapon got to its feet and started to charge round the area running through some buildings in an effort to get Cid off it. Cid saw that Weapon was going to crash into the main support beam of the weapon shop and he quickly pulled his spear out of the monster's back and leapt off. Weapon turned round on its side in an effort to stop itself but it crashed into the main support beam causing the entire building to collapse on top of Weapon.

Cid landed safely on the ground a few feet away from the demolished building and Zack and Barret ran up to him. "Do yer think it's dead?" Barret questioned as he and his two comrades stared at the ruined shop.

There was a loud roar as Weapon burst out of the debris, "to answer your question Barret…" Zack started to speak calmly as Weapon opened its mouth to prepare another beam attack. "NO IT'S NOT DEAD!" He yelled in a panicked tone as he, Barret and Cid leapt out of the way as the beam shot passed them and destroyed a house behind them.

Weapon then picked up a large plank of wood and threw it at Zack, the drag human leapt into the air and landed on the wooden plank. He pushed himself off it and darted at Weapon, the monster tried to snap at him with its jaws but he planted both feet on its head and pushed himself off he landed on Weapon's back and destroyed the cracked armour on its back. The monster reared up on its hind legs revealing its vulnerable underbelly, Barret unloaded a load of bullets into its chest causing it to roar in pain. Zack slashed at its back with his powerful claws as Cid joined in the fray and stabbed his spear into its neck. Weapon twisted this way and that eventually throwing Zack and Cid off it, the two landed on the ground but before, Zack, Cid and Barret could deal any more damage to Weapon it opened its wings and took off.

"Hey!" Cid yelled as he and Zack leapt to their feet and looked up to see Weapon flying away. "Get back here you son of bitch we ain't finished with ya yet!" Weapon ignored them and carried on flying until it disappeared on the horizon.

"Damn!" Barret cursed loudly as he kicked the ground, "just a few more shots and I would've had 'im!"

"We fought it off, that's the main thing," Zack stated as he reverted to his human form and looked round at the damaged buildings. "The Life Stream seems to have settled down, that's good."

The ground suddenly began to shake again much more violently than before. "Ya had to jinx it, didn't ya!" Barret yelled as he glared at Zack.

"This is bad…" Zack uttered in panic as the ground continued to shake. "The Life Stream's comin' up! "

"Let's get the hell outta here!" Cid commanded as he started to run for the Highwind.

"Tifa and Cloud are still in there!" Zack yelled urgently as he looked back in the direction of the clinic. "I've gotta go back for 'em!" Zack started to run off but Cid reached out and grabbed him by the back of his shirt.

"Hold on there boy!" Cid yelled to Zack, "we won't have time to go back for 'em, awful as that sounds. We need to get outta here!"

"But…" Zack started to protest but he knew that the pilot was right. "You're right," Zack admitted defeat. "We've gotta get out of here, someone's gotta fight Meteor and we can do anything if we're dead." Cid released Zack and the three started to run to the airship. Zack stopped for a moment and looked back, "Cloud, Tifa, please get out of there now." Zack then turned back round and followed his friends.

Meanwhile back in the clinic Tifa was stood in the room where Cloud was, she was holding on to something to stop herself from falling over. "This is bad…" She uttered urgently, "The tremors are getting worse…"She looked down at Cloud and sighed, "Cloud….hold on." Tifa ran out into the main room and saw the doctor and the nurse ducking under the reception desk. "Doctor!" Tifa called out to the doctor who crawled out from under the table and looked at her. "Shouldn't we move him somewhere rather than stay here?"

The doctor stared at Tifa for a moment before nodding, "yes, you're right," the doctor agreed with the woman. "It would be safer to move him to a more open area than to leave him here."

Tifa nodded and she ran back into the room where Cloud was, "don't worry Cloud," Tifa reassured the man as she got behind him. "I'm gonna get you somewhere safe, I'm gonna take you to the others. That way we can all keep an eye on you," Tifa continued as she remembered Zack's words. "Is that ok with you Cloud?" Cloud's head bobbed up and down and Tifa could only assume that it was a yes. She removed the brakes from the wheelchair and pushed Cloud out of the clinic. As she pushed Cloud through the village she looked behind her and saw the ground open up. _"Shit!" _Tifa thought to herself as she increased her speed. She and Cloud had just go to the village exit but the ground opened up underneath them and they fell into endless sea of green, Tifa tried to scream but no one could hear her as she and Cloud fell deeper into the Life Stream. (**A/N, I have decided not to include the Life Stream sequence in this chapter because 1, it would take too long. 2 I would be copying from the script and I'm trying to avoid that. 3 Cloud sums it all up on the Highwind afterwards and 4, the Life Stream sequence was just confusing beyond all reason. Also I'm guessing a lot of you have played the game and have seen the Life Stream sequence anyway** **so there's not really much point in me including it.**)

It had been a number of hours since Cloud and Tifa had fallen into the Life Stream and all that was left of Mideel was a large green pool. Fortunately the villagers had managed to reach higher ground. Zack and the others had left the Highwind and returned to Mideel to search for their two friends. Aerith had reached the edge of the Life Stream pool and saw two bodies lying near the Life Stream. "Huh…" Aerith uttered as she got closer to the bodies. She knelt down beside them and turned them on to their backs, she gasped when she saw who they were. "Cloud…Tifa…" Aerith whispered her friends' names, she stood up. "GUYS I'VE FOUND THEM!" Aerith's yell echoed through the ruins of the town and it didn't take long for the rest of the group to find her.

Barret and Zack got closer to their friends, "Tifa…Cloud…" Barret called out their names. "Please be ok."

Tifa moaned as she opened her eyes and looked around, "Barret…Zack…Aerith…" She called out their names.

"We're here," Aerith spoke back as she knelt down and took hold of her friend's hand. "Are you alright?"

Tifa nodded, "yeah…I think so…" Tifa uttered weakly as she tried to sit up.

"Take it easy," Zack advised the raven haired woman and she lay back down again. "You really gave us all a scare."

Tifa smiled weakly before suddenly sitting up again, "Cloud!" She yelled, "where is he? Is he ok?"

"He's fine Tifa," Aerith told her friend as she smiled at her.

"Yeah," Barret agreed with the Cetra. "He's a tough one."

"Guys…" Tifa started to say as Aerith continued to support her. "When I was in the Life Stream I…I saw him…I saw the real Cloud."

"See," Zack replied as he smiled at Tifa. "I told ya you'd meet him."

"Well…more like Cloud found himself…" Tifa corrected herself, "but I helped out…a little…"

Zack smiled and he looked over at Cloud. "Way to go Cloud," Zack spoke to his unconscious friend. "I knew you could do it, I knew you had it in ya." Zack then looked back at Tifa, "but you…you're somethin' else entirely…"

Tifa smiled weakly at Zack, "I'm not sure whether to take that as an insult or a compliment."

Zack smiled back, "well I've gotta admit, you've got a lot guts divin' into the Life Stream like that. But…I guess you were doin' it for a friend."

Tifa nodded, "it's funny…" she spoke in a dream like voice as she lay back down again. "People have so many things pent up inside themselves…and they can forget so many things…strange…don't you think…"

"Tifa!" Barret yelled urgently as he got closer to the woman. "Snap out of it!"

Tifa didn't respond and fell unconscious, "we better get them both back to the Highwind," Zack stated as he walked over to Cloud and picked him up. Barret picked Tifa up and the two were carried back to the Highwind.

"Uuuuuuhhh…" Cloud moaned as he slowly started to come round.

"He doesn't look too good," A voice that sounded familiar to Cloud spoke up. However due to Cloud's semi-conscious state he couldn't fully hear the voice.

"Yeah…he looks like he's seen better days…" A more shrill and childish voice added.

"Well why don't we throw you head first into the Life Stream, see how you feel after that…" A deeper more male sounding voice threatened.

"It would be a bloody improvement!" A gruff voice cursed, causing Cloud to smile.

"Who asked you?" The shrill voice demanded.

"Quiet," the deep male voice spoke up again stopping the argument. "He's starting to come round." Cloud opened his eyes, his vision was blurry at first but it slowly cleared up and he saw Zack, Aerith, Cid and Yuffie crowding round him.

"Hurray!" Aerith yelled enthusiastically as she clasped her hands together.

"Aerith…" Cloud uttered as he saw the pink clad woman, "is that really you?"

"Of course," Aerith answered.

"Don't ever do that to us again!" Yuffie yelled as she stomped up to Cloud and jabbed her index finger into the man's chest. "You really scared us."

"Sorry Yuffie," Cloud apologized.

"We're just glad to have your spiky ass back," Cid cut in before Yuffie could say anything.

Cloud smiled, "thanks Cid, where am I?"

"Where are yer?" Cid repeated as he gave Cloud a stern stare. "Why yer on the Highwind of course!" Cid answered cheerfully as he pointed all around him. "My pride and joy."

"I thought the Tiny Bronco was your pride and joy…" Yuffie questioned as she smirked at Cid.

"Shut the fuck up!" Cid yelled at Yuffie as he tried to punch her but she leapt out of the way.

"Where's Tifa?" Cloud questioned as he suddenly sat up.

"Tifa's alright," an all too familiar voice suddenly spoke up. "She's in another room but the others are keeping an eye on her."

Cloud looked to his right and he saw a man with black spiky hair and wearing black clothing stood there. "It can't be…" Cloud uttered as the man walked closer to him. "Zack…" Cloud uttered the man's name as the man nodded. "But…you're…I thought you were…"

"Dead…" Zack finished Cloud's sentence before chuckling to himself. "It'll take more than an army of Shinra troops and a couple of helicopters to kill me."

"But…where did you come from?" Cloud questioned not taking his eyes off his old friend.

"I've been here the whole time," Zack answered, Cloud just gave him a blank stare. "But you may recognize me better in this form," Zack continued as he closed his eyes and went Drag human.

Cloud almost leapt out of the bed when he saw this, "so…you were the Drag human that was traveling with us the whole time…" Cloud questioned.

"Yes," came the reply. "It was me."

"Why?"

Zack sighed, "because, I wanted to make sure that you were ok." Zack answered truthfully. "And in all honesty, you really needed me."

Cloud smiled before leaping out of bed and hugging his friend. "I really missed you man!"

Zack was surprised at first but he hugged Cloud back, "I've missed you too."

"But I was…" Cloud started but then he realized what Zack meant. "Oh…you meant you missed the real me…" Cloud continued as he released Zack. "Why didn't you tell me who you were?"

"Because, you'd forgotten who you were," Zack answered as he pointed at Cloud's heart. "Hence, you'd forgotten me…in fact, you thought you were me. I didn't want to tell you who I really was because I didn't want to mess your head up any more than it already was. Plus I didn't know how to change forms at the time."

"And now…" Cloud questioned, Zack smirked before reverting to his human form. "I'll take that as a yes," Cloud then hung his head sadly. "I'm sorry Zack," Cloud apologized. "If I'd have known you were still alive I would've…"

"Don't worry about it," Zack brushed Cloud's apology to the side. "You were out of it at the time, besides, even if you weren't there wasn't really much you could do for me."

"I guess that's true," Cloud stated as he realized what Zack was saying made sense. "I guess I should give you your sword back." Cloud uttered as he looked to the left and saw the Buster Sword lent against the wall.

Zack also looked at the Buster Sword and he walked over to it before he carefully lifted it up in both hands. "The Buster Sword..." Zack uttered under his breath as he stared at the sword.

Zack closed his eyes as he remembered his mentor Angeal and everything that he was taught. "Embrace your dreams...and no matter what happens..." Zack started to recite.

"Never forget your honour as SOLDIER," Cloud finished Zack's sentence as he walked over to his friend.

Zack stared at Cloud in shock, "you remembered that..." Zack questioned.

"Of course I do," Cloud told Zack as he smirked at him, "you always said it a lot."

"My old mentor told me that this sword was a symbol of his dreams and honour," Zack explained to Cloud. "Before he died...he gave the sword to me...and it became a symbol of my dreams and honour..."

Zack sighed sadly, _"Angeal..."_Zack thought to himself, _"he was...so perfect...like an angel...and then there's...me..." _

"I...I can't take this..." Zack stated quickly as he held the sword out to Cloud.

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked in shock as he stared at the sword being held out in front of him. "This sword is yours...I took it after the Shinra captured you..."

"I know..." Zack answered without looking at Cloud. "The man who had this sword before me was...well...there was something angelic about him...and as for me...well...I'm a monster..."

"Zack...you're not a monster..." Cloud told his friend.

"It's kind of you to say that but...it's true I am a monster...no matter how hard I try to deny it," Zack stated as he sighed. "That's why I'm giving the sword to you...you've already shown how skilled you are with it...now I'm officially giving it to you...just be sure to embrace your dreams and don't forget your SOLDIER honour."

"I wasn't part of SOLDIER though," Cloud reminded Zack.

"Well...it's what's in your heart that counts," Zack told Cloud. "Please...just take it...I'm no longer worthy to use this sword."

Cloud reached out and took the Buster Sword from Zack's hand before he swung it round above his head and put it on his back. "What about you?" Cloud asked as Zack finally turned round to face Cloud.

"Don't worry about me," Zack reassured his friend. "I found a new weapon in Junon," Zack told Cloud as he tapped the katana scabbard tied to his belt.

"You can use a katana..." Cloud uttered in shock.

"Yeah, in SOLDIER I was trained to use different kinds of swords," Zack told Cloud.

"Wow...you learned a lot in SOLDIER," Cloud stated.

Zack nodded as Aerith walked over to them, "anyway, we'll be holding a meeting in the meeting room." Aerith spoke up as she smiled at Cloud. "Just go there whenever you're ready."

Cloud smiled back at the group, "thanks guys." Cloud replied gratefully.

"You're welcome," Zack replied back before he and the others left the room. Cloud got back into bed and lay down again before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep again.

A couple of hours later Cloud woke up and made his way to the meeting room where everyone else was waiting for him. Cloud received an enthusiastic welcome from his team mates as he walked to the front of the meeting room. Cloud looked at the group for a moment before sighing, "I'm sorry everyone…" he apologized as he hung his head sadly.

"Will you just stop apologizin' already?" Yuffie yelled irritably as she scowled at Cloud. "You've done nothin' but apologize since you got back!"

Cloud sighed again but he looked up when he felt a warm hand on top of his. He looked to his right and he saw Tifa stood next to him with her hand on top of his. Tifa smiled warmly at him, Cloud smiled back and he had the strength to carry on. "I have a confession to make," Cloud stated as everyone stared at him. "I never was in SOLDIER…I made up the stories about what happened to me five years ago…about me being in SOLDIER…" Cloud admitted as he hung his head again.

"I left my village looking for glory, but I…" Cloud paused for a moment before continuing. "I never made it into SOLDIER, instead, I was a lowly infantryman…I was so ashamed of being so weak, then I heard this story from my friend, Zack." Cloud looked up at Zack when he said this. "Zack was the one who was really at Nibelheim, he was the SOLDIER, not me. I just merely created the illusion from what I had seen and heard…I took Zack's memories and stories on board and morphed them into my own memory…and I…I continued to act out this ridiculous farce as though it was true…"

"So wait…does this mean that Zack was the SOLDIER we saw in those illusions…" Barret questioned as Zack scowled at him.

"I thought we already established that…" Zack asked irritably.

"I just thought that I'd…" Barret started.

"Let's just hear what Cloud has to say," Aerith cut in.

"Thank you," Cloud replied gratefully as he smiled at Aerith. "I'm built like someone from SOLDIER," Cloud continued, "Hojo's plan to clone Sephiroth was pretty easy now that I think about it. The procedure was exactly the same as the one they used to create members of SOLDIER."

"Both processes required Mako energy and Jenova cells," Zack added as he too knew the process of creating SOLDIERs.

"Right," Cloud agreed as he nodded. "For better or worse, only the strong can enter SOLDIER, I realise now that it has nothing to do with the Jenova reunion at all." Cloud continued to explain as he shook his head and looked down again. "But weak people…like me…get lost in the whole thing."

"You're not weak," Tifa encouraged Cloud.

Cloud looked over at Tifa and smiled at her. "Thanks for the kind words but my point is that it was Jenova's cells, Sephiroth's will and my own weaknesses that created me…I know who I am now, I am Cloud…the master of my own illusionary world…" Cloud paused for a moment and clenched his fist stubbornly. "But I'm not gonna live in an illusion anymore…I'm gonna live my life now…no one else's…from now on no more pretending."

"That's the best thing I've ever heard you say," Zack spoke up as he gave Cloud a playful smirk.

"Wait!" Yuffie suddenly yelled as she stood up and stared at Cloud. "I'm confused…does this mean…we're back to square one again?"

Cloud sighed, "Cloud, I was just wonderin' what your next move was gonna be." Cait Sith stated curiously. "You're not gonna leave the ship are ye?"

Cloud turned away from the group, "this was my fault," he admitted without looking back at the group. "I'm the reason why Meteor is on a collision course with this planet." Cloud sighed again before turning back to the group. "That's why, I've gotta do everything I can to stop that from happening."

Zack smirked at Cloud again, "glad to hear it."

"Yeah," Barret agreed, "don't think yer getting' out of it that easily."

"Well it's like you always say Barret," Cloud spoke up.

"Oh…ya mean that…" Barret uttered as he scratched his head.

"I don't follow you at all…" Red stated as he stared at Cloud in confusion.

Barret, Cloud, Tifa and Zack all smirked at each other. "There' ain't no getting' off this train we're on," they all recited in perfect unison as the group stared at them.

"Right, I think we should get down to business," Cait Sith spoke up again as he walked towards Cloud. "We're currently searchin' for the Huge Materia." Cait Sith began to explain, "I know it seems kind of strange but…we must get it before the Shinra does. Anyway, we've already got two pieces of the Huge Materia but my sources tell me that the Shinra are manufacturing Huge Materia in the underwater reactor in Junon."

"I see…" Cloud stated as he took in Cait Sith's explanation. "So I guess we're goin' to Junon then…"

"Just say the word," Zack replied as he smiled at Cloud. "After all, you're our leader."

"You did a good job too from what I've heard," Cloud complimented his friend.

"I was just keepin' your position warm for ya," Zack replied modestly.

Cloud smiled at Zack before nodding, "ok, I'm back in command now. Cid, get the airship to Junon." Cloud commanded.

"I'm on it," Cid obeyed as he saluted and left the meeting room.

"Ok…meeting adjourned…" Cloud stated as everyone stood up and left the room. Zack was about to leave the room when Cloud stopped him. "Zack, there's something I need to ask you." Cloud spoke up as Zack turned round to face him.

"Sure," Zack replied as he folded his arms.

"What happened to you?" Cloud questioned, "How did you end up being a you know…"

Zack sighed, "when I was shot, Tseng showed up and saved me…if you could say that." Zack answered, a hint of sadness in his voice. "I was captured and was taken to Shinra HQ, when I woke up I found myself in Hojo's lab. I tried to escape but I was too weak and he experimented on me."

"Experimented…" Cloud repeated what Zack had said.

Zack nodded, "yeah," he replied as he turned away from Cloud. "Hojo was using a new method to create the perfect Super Soldier, hence Project D was born."

"Project D?" Cloud asked as he gave Zack a confused stare.

"Project Dragon," Zack answered, "at least, that's what Hojo said. I'm the prototype, but I'm guessing Hojo will make others."

"He won't," Cloud reassured Zack. "We'll make sure of that, but what I want to know is how you managed to escape."

"I've been asking myself the same question," Zack answered truthfully. Nevertheless he began to explain it as best he could.

* * *

(Flashback)

_In Hojo's lab on the 68__th__ floor of the Shinra building several scientists were looking at a specimen in one of the tanks. "Hmmm…the specimen seems to be coming on nicely," one of the scientists commented as he made notes. _

_One of the scientists walked up to the tank and looked into it to see that the specimen was unconscious and had numerous wires connected to various parts of his body pumping nutrients and other substances through his body. An oxygen mask was inserted into his mouth so that he could breathe properly in the tank. "Looks like Hojo's latest experiment was a success…" the second scientist remarked as she turned back to look at her colleagues._

"_Not quite," her superior spoke up. "We just need to inject the necessary nanites into his body so that he'll be completely under Shinra control."_

"_How long will that take?" The scientist asked her superior._

"_The nanites should be ready in a few hours," he informed his subordinate. "Until then we should give him a little reprieve." The scientists left the room and the door closed behind them. As soon as the scientists were gone the specimen's eyes flickered until they fluttered open to reveal glowing yellow eyes and cat like pupils._

_The specimen looked around trying to see his surroundings but his eye sight was blurry. He tried to speak but all that came out were muffled gasps, it appeared that the oxygen mask had two functions to provide him with oxygen and it also acted like some kind of gag preventing him from crying out. So the specimen just let himself float in the tank semi conscious. "Come on Zack…" The specimen thought in his head, "wake up…come on…wake up…" he kept repeating the words in his head over again in an effort to wake himself up. _

_Zack's eyes blinked a few times before remaining open and his vision slowly began to clear. He looked out of the tank and saw all the strange lab equipment. Zack's body convulsed violently as fear surged through his body, he let out several muffled yells as he thrashed around wildly in the tank. His hands hit the sides of the tank making cracks appear in the glass. _

_One of the scientists from earlier entered the lab again and she saw Zack thrashing about in the tank. "Oh my God…" she uttered as she ran up to the tank. "Please stop it…" she spoke into the tank hoping that Zack would hear her and stop. "You're just going to end up hurting yourself and damage expensive equipment." _

_While this seemed like a straightforward request to the scientist, to Zack the words were muffled and didn't make sense. All he could hear was gibberish and it frightened him even more causing him to thrash around even more wildly and the cracks in the sides of the tank got bigger as Zack punched and kicked the tank. The scientist sighed and ran over to the control panel, she looked for the button that would inject tranquilizers into Zack to calm him down. She pushed a button but she didn't realise which button she had actually pressed until she heard a bleeping sound._

_She looked behind her and saw that all the wires were disconnecting themselves from Zack's body. She desperately tried pressing other buttons to get the wires to reconnect themselves only to find out that the liquid was draining from the tank. Zack continued to lash out at the tank as the liquid continued to be drained, the sound of smashing glass could be heard as Zack finally bashed his way through and he fell out of the tank and landed on the floor. The scientist stared at Zack before cautiously walking up to him._

_Zack moaned softly as he staggered slowly to his feet and saw that the scientist was stood in front of him. Before the scientist could even react Zack punched her in the face causing her to fall to the floor unconscious. Zack looked down at the unconscious scientist before reaching up to his face and removing the oxygen mask from his mouth. Zack then turned round and saw the broken tank behind him, he looked down and saw the shards of glass on the floor. Zack couldn't help but laugh, "I did it…I'm free…I'm finally free…" Zack then looked around the lab. "The guards might have heard that…I better make a move." Zack quickly left the lab and entered the elevator. _

_He got out of the elevator and ran through the 67__th__ floor, he stopped at the other tank in there and looked in and was shocked to see Jenova in there. "Jenova…" Zack then shook his head, "no…I've gotta get outta here first…" Zack turned away from the tank and left the lab for good._

_He ran down the corridor and down the stairs to the 66__th__ floor, he entered the corridor and looked around. He crept down the corridor but stopped when he heard a clicking sound. "Freeze!" A voice yelled behind him, "put your hands on your head!" Zack slowly lifted his hands up and put them on his head. "Now turn around!" Zack slowly turned around. "Now get down on you're…" the soldier stopped as he got a good look at Zack. "Shit! A monster!" The soldier yelled as he and his comrades stepped back in fear._

"_And it's nude!" Another soldier yelled._

"…_IT!" Zack yelled at the top of his lungs as he glared at the soldiers. "WATCH WHO YOU'RE CALLING IT BUDDY!" The soldiers screamed as they turned tail and ran, Zack sighed as he shook his head. "Cowards…" Zack uttered, "what did they mean anyway…why were they calling me a monster?"_

_Zack ran down the corridor taking care to cover his lower regions with his hands, he ran to the bathroom and entered it. He walked up to the sink and turned the tap on, he put his hands under the tap and poured the water on to his face. Zack turned the tap off and grabbed a towel so he could dry his face, he slowly lifted his head up and looked in a mirror and he was shocked to see a purple face with yellow eyes staring back at him. "What the hell…" Zack uttered as he turned away from the mirror and looked back to see the same face staring back at him. "That isn't right…what's goin' on here?" Zack then reached up to his face and felt it before looking down and he saw that his whole body was purple._

"_What the…" Zack uttered as he leapt back in panic, he turned round in circles as he took a good look at himself. "This can't be happening…this really can't be happening…" Zack uttered over and over again as he continued to look at himself. He looked behind him and he saw two large wings arching out of his back and a long tail with a point at the end sticking out of his backside and moving freely. _

_"!" Zack yelled at the top of his lungs in complete shock at what had happened. (__**A/N, this is a parody of the film Brother Bear when Kenai found out that he was in the form of a bear, Brother Bear belongs to Disney.**__) _

_Zack looked down at his hands in shock, "what did they do to me?" Zack questioned, "how did I end up looking like this? I'm a freak! I'm a freakin' monster!" Zack took a few deep breaths, "ok Zack…remember your SOLDIER training, remain calm…you can think of a way out of this…" He took several more deep breaths as he closed his eyes trying to find his inner calm. _

_After a few moments he opened his eyes again, "ok…I need to think this through logically…then I can worry about the fact that I'm a monster…I need clothes…now…if I remember rightly, the SOLDIER lockers are on the 49__th__ floor…I just need to get to level 49 and find some clothes." Zack breathed deeply again, now that he had a plan in mind he felt a lot calmer. He was thinking more like a SOLDIER again and it made him feel better, a part of him was still human. _

_Zack opened the bathroom door and carefully looked out, when he was sure that the coast was clear he crept out of the bathroom and made his way down the corridor. He climbed down several flights of stairs until he arrived at the 49__th__ floor. He crept along the corridor being careful to avoid being detected by the SOLDIERs. Zack hid behind the corner and peered round to see a SOLDIER wearing a black uniform, Zack knew what the uniform was, he knew that SOLDIER 1__st__ classes wore the black uniform. _

_Zack took a closer look at the SOLDIER and recognised him instantly. "Kunsel…" Zack thought to himself as he smiled at the thought of seeing one of his old friends. "So he got promoted to 1__st__…I could go over and say hi…maybe he could help me…" Zack was about to walk over to Kunsel but stopped himself just in time. "No…" a more realistic thought entered his mind, "he's still a member of SOLDIER…SOLDIER and Shinra are my enemies now…if Kunsel spots me…he could capture me again…I can't take that chance…" Zack waited until Kunsel walked off and he crept out from his hiding place and continued down the corridor and he saw a door with the words briefing room on it. Zack opened the door and peered through it, much to his relief there was no one there. _(**A/N, for anyone who doesn't know, Kunsel was a 2****nd**** Class SOLDIER who was a friend of Zack's in Crisis Core, he was one of the guys that sent you messages throughout the game.**)

_Zack entered the room and he saw the SOLDIER lockers, Zack was about to walk up to the lockers but he stopped. "Warning all personnel!" A woman's voice suddenly spoke on an intercom. "A valuable and highly dangerous experiment has escaped from the lab and is running rampant in the building! All personnel be on high alert and if you see the experiment capture it and take it back to the lab, thank you!"_

_Zack sighed and shook his head, "I knew it wouldn't be long before they'd sound the alarm…" Zack muttered to himself, "I better make my move fast, find some clothes and get out of here before I get caught." Zack walked over to the lockers and stopped at one, he instantly recognised the locker. "Aaaahhhh…my old locker," he commented. "I hope there's something useful in there," Zack looked at the dial and put in the combination, but the combination had long since been changed. In his frustration Zack punched the locker door creating a massive dent in it before ripping it clean off its hinges. Zack then threw the door to the side and he saw a spare first class uniform in there._

"_Well…it isn't much but beggars can't really be choosers," Zack stated as he took the uniform out of the locker and began to get changed. He struggled at first due to the extra body parts that weren't there before but he was soon able to get his tail and his wings through creating permanent holes in the clothing but he didn't care. _

_Zack started to feel better and less vulnerable now that he was fully clothed. Zack took out a pair of black boots and black gloves and put them on. He looked into the locker and he saw a black trench coat with a hood on it. "Perfect!" Zack exclaimed as he grabbed the coat and put it on, "this'll hide my appearance so they won't be able to find me." The coat managed to hide Zack's wings and tail which he was pleased about. Zack could hear another clicking sound as several guns were pointed at him._

"_It's the experiment!" One of the soldiers exclaimed._

"_Turn round and put your hands on your head!" Another soldier commanded as the soldiers continued to point their guns at Zack. Zack ignored the soldier, "I said turn round!" The soldier yelled again._

_Zack winced in pain as sharp black claws sprang out of his fingers creating slits in the gloves. Zack quickly turned round and slashed the nearest soldier with his claws slitting his throat. Blood spurted out of the soldier's throat and he fell to the floor dead. The soldiers started to shoot at Zack but he easily dodged the bullets as he felt a sudden surge of speed. Zack kicked a guy in the face instantly breaking his neck he then spun in midair as he avoided several more bullets. As Zack landed on the floor two fireballs ignited in his hands, Zack stared at the fireballs in shock. "Ouch hot!" He yelled quickly as he threw the fireballs at the soldiers completely incinerating them. The last soldier tried to run away but he tripped and fell on the floor. _

_He felt sharp claws dig into his leg and he felt himself being dragged back. "No!" The soldier yelled as he desperately tried to dig his fingers into the floor to stop himself from being dragged but Zack was much too strong and he found himself looking up at him. Zack smirked at the soldier revealing two small but sharp fangs in the corners of his mouth. "I don't think so…" Zack stated evilly as he dug his claws into the man's neck and ripped out his spinal cord. _(**A/N, this is a move from Mortal Kombat called the Spine Rip it was a fatality used by Sub Zero. I don't own Mortal Kombat, it belongs to Midway Games.)**_ Zack looked at the spinal cord in his hand before quickly dropping it in shock. "Ok…I'm never doing that again…" Zack uttered as he looked down at his hands disgusted with himself. "That was way too brutal for my liking…" _

_Zack sighed and breathed deeply for a moment before putting his hood up and leaving the locker area. Zack carefully made his way back to the stairs and climbed down many more flights before reaching the entrance. Zack crept passed the guards on duty and left the building, he then ran from the Shinra building and left the upper plate. He entered the slums below, Zack wasn't sure which sector he was in but he knew that anywhere had to be better than being held against his will in the Shinra building. As Zack walked along the street he was approached by a middle aged homeless man carrying a bottle of whisky and a cigarette. "Hey buddy…you got a light…" the man asked sounding drunk. _

_Zack was about to answer but he felt a lump in his throat, "great…" Zack thought to himself. "I'm gonna be sick…just what did Hojo do to me…" Zack quickly swallowed what he thought was sick, a few seconds later he felt a searing pain in his stomach. "Shit…" Zack thought to himself again, "now I really feel sick…" Zack turned round frantically looking for a place to be sick. Suddenly a large fireball shot out of Zack's ass and passed the homeless man. _(**A/N, this is a parody from Dragonheart 2: The New Beginning where they were teaching Drake to breathe fire but it came out the wrong way. I don't own Dragonheart, it belongs to its respective owner.**)

_The homeless man stared at Zack for a moment before dropping his whisky bottle on the floor. "Never mind pal…I'm gonna go…" The man uttered in shock as he backed away from Zack before turning round and running off._

_Zack watched the man disappear round the corner and sighed to himself. "This is gonna take some getting used to," he said to himself as he sighed again. "I just hope the Shinra don't find me…not now I'm finally free after five years." Zack turned round and walked off in the opposite direction to the one the homeless man ran off in._

(End flashback)

* * *

"That's how I escaped," Zack stated as he had finished telling Cloud the story of how he escaped. "I never realized how incompetent the Shinra's Science Department was until that scientist accidentally released me." Zack chuckled to himself as he remembered that. "Of course her mistake was an opportunity for me."

"Well you always were one to think on your feet," Cloud replied as he gave Zack an amused smile.

"It's saved my ass a lot in the past," Zack responded as he turned round to face Cloud. "Of course I wasn't so lucky in Midgar."

"Hey, the important thing is, you're alive," Cloud said encouragingly as he placed his hand on Zack's shoulder. "You're gonna stay and help right?" Cloud asked hopefully.

Zack smirked, "I stand by what I said when we left Midgar," he answered seriously. "I'll stay and fight with you guys till the end. Plus I get to kick Shinra's ass, they wanted a weapon, well they've got one!" Zack yelled as he clenched his hand into a fist. "And they're gonna regret ever messing with me!"

Cloud laughed, "You haven't changed a bit," he stated as Zack smirked at Cloud again. "Well, I'm gonna go and find Tifa."

"Ok, see ya around Cloud," Zack replied Cloud smiled at his friend before leaving the meeting room. A few minutes later Zack followed him. After a while Zack entered the navigation room of the Highwind, "where are we now?"

"We're approachin' Junon now," Cid answered as he looked up from the control panel. "We just need to find a good landin' spot." Zack nodded as the Highwind hovered over Junon and landed just outside it.

"I don't understand…" Yuffie questioned as she managed to stop herself from being sick. "Why can't we just land at the airport?"

"Because it would be too obvious," Cloud answered as he looked at Yuffie. "We want to get to the Underwater Reactor, hopefully without causing too much trouble."

"In other words, we're gonna take the scenic route…" Yuffie replied as she gave Cloud a questioning look.

"You can stay here if you want Yuffie," Zack stated as he smirked at the ninja. "This mission wouldn't require all of us, right?" He questioned as he looked at Cloud.

"Nah," Cloud answered. "Only a few of us are needed, ok, who's coming?"

"I'll go," Zack volunteered as he held his hand up.

"Not me!" Yuffie yelled as she took a few steps back, "I'm stayin' right here, even if this thing does make me wanna puke!"

"Don't you fuckin' dare!" Cid yelled menacingly as he took his spear out of an overhead compartment and pointed it at Yuffie.

"Cid!" Aerith admonished as she glared at the pilot, "that's not very nice!"

"I don't want her makin' a mess of my pride and joy!" Cid yelled defensively as he pointed at Yuffie.

"Does it matter?" Cloud snapped as he glared at Cid then Aerith before turning to Yuffie again. "Yuffie, I asked who WAS going, not who ISN'T going," Cloud stated placing emphasis on certain words so that Yuffie would get the message. Yuffie scowled at Cloud but kept her mouth shut.

"I'll go too," Tifa quickly volunteered refusing to let Cloud out of her sight.

"Me too," Barret also volunteered as he walked up to Tifa. "I don't want anythin' bad happenin' to ya."

"I'll be fine Barret," Tifa reassured the man.

"Are you sure you want to come?" Cloud questioned as he stared at the raven haired woman. "I mean, it's gonna be dangerous."

"I'm used to danger by now," Tifa answered as she smiled at Cloud. "And I can handle myself pretty well, and you better not say otherwise!" Tifa threatened as she clenched her hand into a fist and shook it in Cloud's face.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Cloud replied as he stared nervously at Tifa's fist.

"I'm coming too," Aerith spoke up before anyone could say anything and she walked over to Zack. "That is, if it's ok with you," she added as she looked up at Zack with a hopeful expression in her eyes.

Zack sighed, he knew he couldn't say no to her whenever she looked at him like that. "Sure," Zack replied without arguing.

"That's it…" Aerith asked as she gave Zack a questioning stare. "You're not gonna say 'you can't go, it's much too dangerous,' or something else along those lines?"

"Would you rather I did?" Zack responded as he gave her a knowing look, Aerith shook her head. "I know you Aerith," Zack added not taking his eyes off her. "I know that once your mind is made up there's nothing anyone can do to change it."

"Good point," Aerith agreed, "and don't worry, I'll be on my best behaviour." She then pulled the most innocent looking face, the kind of face a child would pull when they say they'd be good before getting up to mischief. Zack couldn't help but laugh at the expression on Aerith's face.

"Well now that that's sorted out," Cid stated as he walked over to the group. "I'm comin' too."

Everyone stared at Cid in shock, "I thought you wanted to stay with the ship to make sure the co-pilots 'don't make a monkey's ass out of everything' in your words." Barret replied as he continued to stare at the pilot.

Cid chuckled, "true," he admitted. "But sometimes I just wanna get in on the action if ya know what I mean," he added as he removed his spear from an overhead compartment. Everyone nodded, "right, onward to Junon!" Cid commanded as he marched out of the navigation room and made his way to the deck.

"Hey!" Cloud yelled as he ran after Cid, "I'm the leader I was supposed to say that!" Everyone else laughed as they saw Cloud run after Cid.

"We better follow them," Tifa suggested. Barret, Zack and Aerith nodded in agreement and they followed Cid and Cloud. They met the two on the deck of the ship, one of the attendants lowered the rope ladder and saluted.

The group climbed down the ladder one by one and stood on the ground next to the airship. "Alright, Junon's not too far away," Cid remarked as he started to walk towards the derelict town, the group followed him.

Five minutes later they entered Lower Junon and were dismayed to see that the town was in no better state than the last time they were there. "Well it's safe to say that this place is still a shithole," Zack commented as he looked around.

"Zack…" Aerith admonished as she scowled at him. "Watch your language."

"But…that's what it is…" Zack responded in a defensive tone as he gave Aerith an innocent look.

"I hardly think it's an appropriate thing to say given the current situation," Aerith replied sternly.

"Aerith…you really need to lighten up," Zack remarked as he walked slightly ahead of her.

"Let's just get to the city above," Cloud cut in he had a nervous expression on his face. "Before you know who shows up."

You mean Priscilla…" Zack questioned as he gave Cloud an amused stare. "I can't believe a 12 year old girl has the hots for you."

Cloud scowled at Zack, "don't ever joke about that again…" Cloud hissed menacingly as he grabbed hold of Zack's shirt.

"Ok, ok…sheesh…you're so uptight sometimes you know that…" Zack responded in a defensive tone as he pried Cloud's hands off his shirt.

"I really think you should tell Priscilla that you're not interested," Tifa chipped in as she got closer to Cloud.

"Am I detecting a hint of jealousy from the sexy raven head?" Zack questioned as he gave Tifa a playful smirk. Tifa glared at Zack before punching him in the stomach, "oomph…" Zack grunted in pain as he held his stomach, he slowly looked up at Tifa. "What was that for?" He questioned.

"For opening your big mouth when it's not called for and for not knowing when to shut up…" Tifa answered, a hint of menace in her voice as she shook her fist at Zack.

Zack staggered slowly to his feet, "alright…I'm sorry I said anything…" Zack apologized as he gave Tifa a hurt look.

"Let's just head to the elevator," Aerith cut in quickly changing the subject. The group made their way to the other side of town where the elevator was, they saw that a Shinra guard was stood there patrolling the elevator. "We'd like to go up please," Aerith politely requested as she pointed at the elevator.

"To use the elevator you have to pay 10gil," the guard stated in a bored tone as he stared at the group.

"Shit!" Cid cursed loudly as he scowled at the guard, "you think we're fuckin' made of money!"

"Listen pal," the guard responded as he stared indifferently at the group while pointing his gun at Cid. "I don't make the rules, the company does now if you want to use the elevator you'll have to pay up." Cid grumbled and the group looked from one to the other.

Zack stepped up to the guard and before the guard could even react Zack punched him in the stomach winding him and causing him to drop the gun. Zack then grabbed him by the collar of his uniform and pinned him to the wall. "Look, this is an emergency we don't have time for this bullshit…" Zack hissed menacingly in the guard's ear. "Now, I think it would be in your best interest to let us use that elevator for free."

"And…if I don't…" The guard questioned as he looked up at Zack trying to hide his fear.

"Then you shall die a very slow and painful death," Zack answered threateningly as he smirked evilly at the guard.

The guard's eyes grew wide with shock, "y…you…w…wouldn't…" the guard stammered no longer hiding his fear.

Zack's grin grew wider showing his two fangs and his yellow eyes glowed much more vividly, "wouldn't I?" Zack questioned in a mocking tone, the guard quivered in fear. "Let me put it this way," Zack continued as his voice became darker. "You won't be the first Shinra lackey I've killed and you won't be the last either…so you can either let us use the elevator free of charge or you can die a very painful death, how would you like to be snapped like a twig?"

"Ok…ok…you can use the elevator…" the guard gave in as he continued to shake in fear, "just don't tell my boss about this…"

Zack released the guard, "thanks," Zack replied gratefully his voice returning to normal. He returned to his friends, Tifa pushed the button and the elevator door opened. Everyone stepped inside it and Tifa pushed the button, the elevator door closed and the elevator went up.

The group relaxed as casual elevator music echoed through the speakers, for a moment there was silence but Aerith then looked at Zack. "Was that really necessary?" She questioned as Zack turned to face the Cetra.

Zack sighed irritably, "yes…" he answered a hint of annoyance in his voice, "before you say anything I was just bluffing…I wasn't gonna kill him." Zack answered quickly before Aerith could say anything.

"I wasn't going to say anything…" Aerith stated shocked that Zack would even think that she would admonish him again.

"Good," Zack stated as he turned away from Aerith. "Because the main thing is that we were able to use the elevator and we're 10gil better off."

"I like that logic," Cid agreed as he tenderly patted his jacket pocket where his wallet was. "I ain't fuckin' made of money."

Aerith scowled at Cid but she didn't have chance to say anything as she was interrupted by a loud ding. "Looks like this is our floor," she remarked as the elevator stopped and the door opened. The group stepped out of the elevator and they found themselves in a corridor that they instantly recognized.

"Wasn't this the corridor we walked through last time we were here?" Tifa asked as she looked up and down the corridor.

"Yeah," Barret answered, "this was where we had to disguise ourselves but none of the uniforms would fit Zack so we had to shove him in that crate." Barret chuckled as he remembered Zack's reaction to being forced into a crate.

"Do you have to mention it every time we set foot in Junon?" Zack questioned through gritted teeth as he glared at Barret.

"It was funny," Barret answered as he gave Zack a nervous glance.

"Funny for you maybe," Zack retorted a little irritably as he folded his arms. "That crate was uncomfortable."

"Well you don't have to worry we won't be shoving you in a crate this time," Tifa reassured Zack as she placed her arm on her shoulder.

"That's a relief," Zack stated as he started to relax more. He looked up and down the corridor, "well going left would take us to the airport so we should go right." The group went right and they left the building and found themselves in the city, they ran up the alley and found themselves in the main street where they saw the citizens trying to get their lives back on track.

The group ran further down the street but stopped suddenly, "that's odd…" Cloud uttered as he looked out to the ocean.

"What's odd?" Aerith questioned as she stared at Cloud.

"Wasn't there a cannon there before?" Cloud asked as he rubbed his chin.

"Yeah, why?" Zack answered as he gave Cloud a questioning stare.

"Because it's gone," Cloud replied, everyone else looked out to the ocean and they too saw that the cannon was missing.

"Holy shit!" Cid cursed, his hand shook as he reached for his cigarettes but then he remembered that he didn't have them anymore. "Fuck! Who keeps stealin' ma cigarettes? Cid demanded irritably as he glared at his friends.

"Cid we've been through this, it's for your own good," Tifa sternly reminded him.

"For my own good my ass!" Cid yelled irritably, "I need a cigarette right now! I've had one of the biggest shocks of ma life!"

"A missing cannon was shocking to you…" Zack uttered as he gave Cid a blank stare.

"Hell yeah!" Cid shouted, "look at me, I'm shakin'!"

"Cid…it's not that big a deal," Zack stated as he shook his head. "Still how could something so big just disappear like that?"

"I'm not sure," Cloud answered as he began to ponder it but he soon changed his mind. "But it's not important right now, we need to get to the Underwater Reactor."

The group carried on going and they eventually ended up in the tunnel which led to the other side of the city. The group stopped in the middle of the tunnel when they heard the sound of a whistle followed by footsteps, the group turned down and looked down the corridor to see a captain training his soldiers. The captain stopped blowing his whistle and turned round, he was surprised to see the group.

"Wha…" He exclaimed as he leapt back in surprise. "It's Avalanche! All right men show 'em what you're made off!" The captain commanded, his soldiers took one look at the group and they all turned round in perfect unison. "Attention! CHARGE!" The captain ordered and his soldiers quickly ran off in the other direction, the captain turned round and saw his soldiers run off. "HEY!" He yelled at the top of his lungs as he ran after the soldiers, "WHERE ARE YOU GOING? THAT'S THE UNDERWATER REACTOR YOU IDIOTS!" The captain continued to shout as he disappeared.

"Well, at least we know we're heading in the right direction," Zack stated as the group ran down the corridor and entered a small single door to the right. They ran down the stairs in the underground path and they saw an elevator at the end of the corridor.

The group entered the elevator and they saw a young woman and two Shinra guards in there. "We'd like to go down please," Aerith politely requested. The woman sighed as she pushed the button, the elevator doors closed and the elevator went down.

The group stood and waited patiently as the elevator made its descent. The two guards were talking among themselves when they spotted the group, "how 'bout whoever stays alive gets to take her out." One of guards challenged his comrade as he pointed at the woman stood in the corner with a bored expression on her face.

"You're on," the second guard accepted his comrade's challenge and the two guards pointed their guns at the group. "But what if we…" he suddenly questioned as he gave the group a nervous glance.

"Whoa! Don't even think about that!" His comrade yelled as he stared at the group, Cloud and Zack smirked as they stepped forwards not even bothering to withdraw their weapons. The sound of punching and yells of pain could be heard from outside the elevator, when the elevator reached the bottom floor the doors opened and the group casually stepped out of the elevator with Cloud and Zack massaging their hands.

The woman in the elevator sighed as she looked down at the two unconscious guards. "Humph…the Shinra guards are so pathetic…" She said with a huff as she got out of the elevator.

Meanwhile the group ran down the corridor and made their way down another flight of stairs. "Usin' fisticuffs against two armed guards," Cid remarked as he smirked at Cloud and Zack. "You're both either brave, stupid or both."

"Well, the stupid part might apply to Cloud more than me." Zack replied with a smirk but he soon cowered when he saw Cloud scowling at him. "I'm kidding," Zack added as he did a cross sign with his fingers. Cloud continued to scowl at him, "but seriously though, two shitty guards that do a half assed job are no match for an ex SOLDIER 1st Class and a complete nutcase who thought he was in SOLDIER but he wasn't because he was really a Shinra guard but that's now irrelevant because thanks to Hojo's experiments he now has…"

"Alright!" Cloud snapped quickly interrupting Zack, "I admit it, I have some psychological issues. You don't have to keep bringing it up!"

"I didn't say you were a psycho…" Zack replied defensively. "Just please stop scowling at me."

Cloud sighed but he stopped scowling and Zack was able to relax. "Come on, let's go to the Underwater Reactor so we can get the Huge Materia." Tifa commanded as she started to walk down the corridor, the rest of the group followed her. They ran down the corridor and down another flight of stairs, they walked down another corridor and entered another elevator. Cloud pushed the button and the elevator went down, once the elevator had reached the bottom the door opened and the group ran out, they were amazed to see that they were on the ocean floor.

"Wow!" Aerith exclaimed as she looked up and saw the ocean and a whole host of sea creatures through the see-through ceiling. "I can't believe we're actually under the water!"

"Yeah," Zack answered as he too looked up. "This tunnel must lead to the underwater reactor, that means we're getting close." Zack took hold of Aerith's hand and the group walked through the long winding tunnel until they saw a large circular building at the other end of the tunnel. The group entered the building and saw that they were in another elevator. Tifa pushed the button and the group heard a hissing sound, they looked around them and they saw glass cylinders that were slowly filling up with water as the elevator descended. When the water cylinders were full the elevator stopped and the door opened, the group stepped out of it and walked down the next corridor.

They ended up on a narrow walkway, as they walked along it they looked down and saw numerous submarines at the docks. "Amazing…" Tifa uttered as she looked at the submarines, "I've never seen anything like it."

"They're just submarines…" Cid scoffed as he rolled his eyes. "What's so fuckin' great about those underwater coffins?"

"I was just saying…" Tifa replied in an offended tone as she glared at Cid, she curled her hand into a fist which violently shook.

"Guys…remember what we came here for…" Cloud quickly reminded the two and the group continued to run along the catwalk. They entered a room that looked more like a traditional Mako Reactor and they saw numerous guards patrolling the area. "Great…" Cloud muttered under his breath as the group hid behind a corner.

"Humph…mere fodder…" Zack scoffed as he looked at the guards on patrol.

"What do ya mean mere fodder?" Barret demanded as he stared at Zack.

"We can take them on easily," Zack answered as he smirked at the man with the gun arm. "We just need to get their attention."

"I don't like where this is going…" Cloud uttered, "Zack, please don't do anything stupid…"

"No can do," Zack answered quickly before changing into his Drag Human form and walking calmly out of his hiding place. As soon as he was in a good enough spot he bent down and lowered his pants before whistling to get the guards' attention.

"Huh…" The guards all uttered in perfect unison as they saw Zack flashing his ass at them his long tail drifting from side to side.

"Hey dickwads!" Zack yelled as he continued to wave his ass around. "Kiss my purple scaly ass!"

"Shoot him!" One of the guards ordered as they all pointed their guns at him and opened fire.

"Maybe that wasn't my best idea," Zack stated as he quickly pulled his pants up and ran back to his friends. "But still I got their attention."

Zack disappeared round the corner and one of the guards followed him carefully peering round the corner. As he crept round the corner he was greeted by a fist which punched him square in the jaw knocking several of his teeth out. The guard fell to the floor unconscious and Tifa stepped out of the shadows cracking her knuckles. "I love the sound of jaws breaking," Tifa stated as she calmly stepped over the unconscious guard.

Her friends followed suit and the remaining guards opened fire, "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!" Barret yelled as he sprayed the guards with bullets of his own. Cloud charged at one of the guards and cut him cleanly in half, the guard's top half fell to the floor, the bottom half stood there for a few seconds before slumping forwards on to the floor.

A guard pulled out a sabre and charged at Aerith, Aerith quickly spun her staff round and held it out in front of her parrying the blow. The guard swung his sabre round but it kept hitting Aerith's staff, Aerith quickly thrust her staff forwards knocking the guard back. Before the guard could react Aerith quickly spun her staff round again hitting the guard in the face before swinging it round again and striking the guard in the stomach winding him. Aerith swung the staff round a third time smashing it against the guard's neck breaking it, the guard stood there staring at Aerith in shock for a moment before falling to the floor dead. "Oh dear…" Aerith uttered in shock as she looked down at the body of the dead guard. "I…I killed someone…"

"It get's easier, trust me," Zack advised Aerith as he walked up to her. He had long since reverted to his human form. Another sabre wielding guard crept up behind them but Zack could sense that the guard was coming and he unsheathed his katana and swung it back at just the right moment. Zack turned his head round slightly and saw the guard stood there his eyes were wide with shock, Zack smirked evilly as he slowly removed his katana and sheathed it causing the guard to fall to the floor dead.

Aerith was amazed that Zack didn't even flinch once, "you killed someone and you're not even flinching…" She uttered in shock and amazement.

"Well when you've killed as many people as I have you soon get used to it." Zack answered calmly, "But I'll be honest with you, when I first killed a guy I was shaking like a leaf but my superiors just told me to stop acting like a sissy and that I'd better get used to it because I'd be killing more people in the future."

"It must've been hard in SOLDIER," Aerith replied as she gave Zack a sympathetic look.

"You have no idea," was all Zack said. He looked around and he saw more guards, "we should get back to work," Zack changed the subject as he and Aerith got into fighting stances.

Another guard was pointing his gun at Tifa but Tifa punched the guard in the face to stun him and kicked his hand to disarm him. The guard tried to grab his gun but Tifa quickly kicked it out of the way before sending him flying into a wall. Another guard crept up behind her but she just elbowed the unsuspecting guard in the jaw breaking. She then grabbed him and gracefully wrapped her leg round the guard's neck and twisted leg breaking the guard's neck, Tifa released the guard and let him fall to the floor lifeless.

Several guards were surrounding Cid, "bring it on you mother fuckers!" Cid yelled at the guards as he did a just bring it sign with his hand. The guards charged at Cid but the pilot quickly swung his spear round impaling all the guards on it. Cid smirked as he twisted the spear round to double the guards' pain before removing it and the guards slumped to the floor dead.

The group met up with each other and looked down at the floor to see all the dead guards. "I guess that'll teach 'em to mess with us!" Barret yelled triumphantly as he stroked his gun arm.

"Yeah," Cid agreed as he rested his spear on his shoulders. "They'll think twice before fuckin' with us."

"Now let's get the Huge Materia," Cloud commanded as the group ran down the corridor. They eventually entered another narrow walkway with a strange looking machine at the end of it.

"Is this the reactor core?" Aerith questioned as she gave the machine a curious stare.

"Yeah," Zack answered as he walked closer to the machine. "This must be the machine that manufactures the materia, but how do we get it?"

In answer to Zack's question a claw like hand suddenly lowered and reached into the machine. A minute later it pulled itself out again holding a large orb. "THE HUGE MATERIA!" The group exclaimed as they watched the claw move along a rail on the ceiling taking the Huge Materia with it.

"After it!" Cloud ordered as the group ran after the mechanical claw. "We can't let it get away with the Huge Materia!" The group ran as fast as they could down the catwalk and they eventually ended up at the dock they saw from the upper floor. They stopped and stared in shock as they saw the mechanical claw stop above a red coloured submarine, the top of the submarine opened and the Huge Materia was lowered into it. As soon as the Huge Materia was in place the mechanical hand pulled itself out of the submarine and moved away as the roof of the submarine closed.

"We're too late…" Aerith uttered pessimistically as she stared at the red submarine. "We'll never get it now…"

"Hey come on…" Zack replied as he tried his best to comfort Aerith. "We're the good guys, right…that means something's bound to come up to aid us in our fight against the evil tyranny that is the Shinra."

The group just stared at Zack in surprise, "what kind of fucked up planet are you livin' on?" Cid demanded as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Hey, I was just saying that to cheer Aerith up," Zack answered in an offended tone.

"Are you saying I'm naïve?" Aerith questioned as she scowled at Zack.

"How can I say this without offending you?" Zack mused as he rubbed his chin trying to think of how he could say it. "Yes," he finally said as Aerith continued to scowl at him, "what? You are naïve…" Zack replied in a defensive tone.

"We're also wasting time," Tifa spoke up as she pointed to the submarine. "It could leave at any minute."

The group crept forwards a few paces and they saw Reno with his back to them giving out instructions. They continued to slowly creep up hoping to get passed the Turk, "what are you doing?" Reno demanded without turning round. "Help load!"

"Wow…he actually thinks that we're dockworkers…" Zack muttered as he rolled his eyes. "I thought the Turks were supposed to be smarter than that."

Reno turned round as soon as he heard Zack speak. "You guys…" he uttered hiding his surprise well. "I had a feeling you'd come, but I had no idea that you were actually here until Zack opened his big mouth." Reno then took a closer look at Zack and leapt back in shock, "You're…human…" he uttered in surprise.

"Why so surprised?" Zack questioned as he smirked at Reno.

"Last time I saw you, you were half man half reptile," Reno answered, "but then again, it was actually an improvement."

Zack's smirk soon turned to a scowl as he growled at Reno and started to advance on him when Cloud grabbed him and pulled him back. "Don't…" Cloud spoke into Zack's ear trying to calm the man down. "He's not worth it." Cloud then glared at Reno, "we've come here for one thing and one thing only," Cloud sternly told Reno. "The Huge Materia."

"Yeah, so hand it over or else we'll blow your ass to kingdom come!" Barret threatened as he pointed his gun arm at Reno.

Reno merely smirked at Barret, "my, what a big threat," he spoke calmly obviously unfazed. "Then again I really don't expect any less from the likes of Avalanche." Reno continued as he flicked his hair with his hand.

"Just give us the damn Huge Materia!" Zack yelled at Reno as his was clasped on the handle of his katana.

Reno let out a fake yawn as he gave Zack a bored expression. "Is that really the best you can come up with?" Reno questioned in an uninterested tone causing Zack to snarl at him again. "Look I don't have time to deal with riff raff like you, I've got a job to do. However I've already prepared a playmate for you." A loud thud could be heard as Reno said this a strange looking robot with large arms slowly walked up to the group, "now play nicely with the robot while I tend to the Huge Materia." Reno added before running off, as Reno ran off the robot stepped forwards and got into a fighting stance.

"Why are the Shinra always sending giant robots of death to kill us?" Zack complained as he along with the rest of the group got into fighting stances. "Are they really that weak that they can't deal with us themselves?" Everyone just looked at Zack and gave him agreeable nods but they didn't say anything, the robot reached out and tried to grab Tifa in its giant hand. However Tifa quickly leapt out of the way and performed a swift uppercut on the robot's hand stunning it for a few seconds. Aerith quickly equipped a thunder materia in her staff and cast a barrage of lightning spells at the robot. The robot stood there stunned for a moment before quickly backhanding Aerith sending her flying.

Aerith screamed as she saw herself almost flying off the dock, Zack quickly transformed and ran after Aerith. He arrived at the edge of the dock and leapt up just in time to catch Aerith. "Are you ok?" Zack asked as he looked down at the woman in his arms.

"I'm fine," Aerith answered as she nodded. "I should've seen it coming."

Zack put Aerith down again on solid ground and changed back to his human form. He then charged at the robot, as he ran he saw Cloud running along side him dragging his sword behind him creating sparks on the floor. The two men looked at each other before smirking and their weapons glowed as energy flowed through them. Zack quickly withdrew his katana and stroked the blade with his hand causing strange glowing symbols to appear on it before spinning it round himself to create a red coloured whirlwind with the symbols floating round him.

Zack then thrust the sword forwards causing the red whirlwind to hurl itself at the robot lifting it up into the air and the symbols blew up in turn causing extensive damage to the robot. Zack and Cloud then leapt up into the air and Zack grabbed hold of Cloud's hands, both their hands glowed for a moment before Zack and Cloud began to spin round extremely fast striking the robot with their glowing swords as they spun causing massive damage. Cloud and Zack then stopped spinning and landed safely on the floor just as the robot came crashing to the floor and was smashed to pieces due to the amount of damage it took.

Everyone looked at the mangled robot on the floor before looking at Cloud and Zack. "That was fuckin' amazin'!" Cid yelled in awe as he ignored the scowls that Aerith was giving him.

"I ain't never seen anythin' like that before," Barret added as he smirked at the two men. "But whatever the hell that was it kicked ass!"

"Thanks," Zack and Cloud replied gratefully. "We're not sure how it happened though," Cloud added as he gave the group a confused stare. "It was like…at that moment in time my mind and Zack's mind were one. We both knew what we were gonna do."

"You mean like a team attack…" Tifa questioned as she tried to better understand what it was.

"Yeah…somethin' like that," Zack answered as he scratched his head. "But that's not important…what's important right now is that we get to that sub before it…" Zack stopped in midsentence and turned round to find that the red submarine had already gone. "Submerges…"

"It's gone…" Tifa uttered, "we're too late."

"That robot was just a distraction," Cloud uttered as he looked back at the mangled robot.

"So what do we do now?" Aerith questioned as she looked at her friends for answers.

"Simple, we take that other sub and go after it." Zack answered as he pointed to a grey coloured submarine at the other side of the dock.

Aerith sighed as she scowled at Zack, "you know how I feel about stealing," Aerith stated sternly as she folded her arms.

"I don't recall you complaining when we took the Highwind," Zack reminded Aerith. "Besides we're stealing from the Shinra, they're far from innocent." Zack continued and the group made their way to the grey submarine dispatching of any soldiers that got in their way.

As the group got closer to the submarine Zack stopped suddenly, he closed his eyes and opened them again. He began to walk in the opposite direction to the submarine as he was being drawn by something. "Zack…" Aerith called out to the raven haired man as she gave him a concerned look.

Zack didn't answer and he carried on walking in a trance like state, as he reached the far wall he saw what looked like a strange blue scale stuck to the wall. Zack closed his eyes again and instinctively reached out to the scale and touched it. Zack's hand started to glow with a blue aura as he slowly removed his hand, he automatically transformed into his Drag Human form.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked down at his still glowing hand and saw to his surprise that silvery coloured scales began to form on his hand and slowly spread to the rest of his body and his whole body began to glow with that strange blue aura. Zack closed his eyes again and thrust his head back as he felt the power of water course through his veins. After a few moments the glow and the scales faded and Zack opened his eyes again.

His friends ran up to Zack to see if he was ok, "Zack…are you ok?" Cloud questioned his voice was filled with concern for his friend.

Zack turned round to face his friends, he was about to open his mouth to speak but instead water spewed out of his mouth. Everyone leapt back in shock, "Whoa!" They all yelled in unison as they stared at Zack.

"What was that?" Tifa questioned as she looked at the pool of water on the floor.

Zack coughed as the water subsided, "I'm not sure," he answered truthfully. "I just touched some kind of scale on the wall and now I can breathe water."

"Do you think it's a new power?" Aerith asked as she stared inquisitively at Zack.

Zack nodded, "yeah," he answered. "Vincent said that because of my mutation there are certain things that can affect me. I'm still figuring it out."

"Well figure it out in your own time," Cloud firmly commanded. "But in retrospect that power would've been more useful when we were stuck in the desert!" Cloud yelled as he glared at Zack.

"Why?" Zack demanded as he scowled at Cloud, "so you could've used me as a water fountain as well as an oven, an ice dispenser, a lock pick, a human chameleon and several other things…I could go on."

"Please don't" Cid shouted at Zack, "We've got a sub to catch." The group ran towards the submarine and got rid of the soldiers that were guarding it. They climbed on to the submarine and opened the hatch before climbing down the ladder into the submarine.

They ran into the main control room where they were approached by two guards and a captain wearing a red uniform. The group just stared the soldiers down and they were suddenly cowering in fear. "NO! THIS IS TERRIBLE!" The captain yelled in fright as he gave the group a fearful stare before turning back to his subordinates. "We don't have much time left! I don't want to die!" He yelled again as he grabbed on of the soldiers and shook him.

"There's still so much I wanted to do!" The soldier that wasn't being shaken shouted as he voiced his regret at not being able to do everything he wanted. "I didn't even get to do my special victory dance in battle!"

"Well make this your first victory then!" The captain commanded as he stopped shaking the other soldier. "Remember your training!"

"Yes sir!" The two soldiers yelled in unison as they raised their guns into the air.

The captain smiled and he turned round to face the group again, "I'm back!" He yelled bravely as he removed his rapier and pointed it at the group. "An' now I've got no regrets! ATTACK!" He yelled the last part at the top of his lungs as the three soldiers charged at the group.

Zack, Tifa and Cloud sighed as they punched the three soldiers in the face knocking them out. "I really don't want to kill any more soldiers today," Zack stated as he massaged his fist.

"Aerith, you got any rope?" Cloud asked as he looked at the Cetra.

"I think so, let me check." Aerith answered as she removed her backpack and searched it. She eventually pulled out three short pieces of rope.

Cloud, Tifa and Zack each took a piece of rope and tied the soldiers' hands behind their backs before picking them up and putting them in the corner of the room. "That'll hold 'em for a while," Tifa stated in a satisfied manner as the group walked over to the controls.

"Hang on!" Cid called to the group as he sat down in the seat and looked at the controls. "I'm gonna make her descend." Cid pushed a button and the engine roared as it ignited and the submarine dived and entered the sea.

"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!" Cloud yelled suddenly as he held his head and fell to his knees.

"Cloud!" Tifa yelled as she ran over to the blond haired man and knelt down beside him. "What's wrong?"

Cloud moaned as he frantically shook his head, "I…I'm sorry…" He stammered as he looked at Tifa, "I…I can't take it anymore…The lack of space…the shaking….the roar of the engine…"

"Damn man!" Barret yelled at Cloud as he grabbed Cloud by the scruff of the neck and dragged him to his feet. "Pull yerself together!"

"Come on Cloud," Zack added a little more encouraging. "We've made it this far, don't wail on us now."

"Aah relax," Cid told Cloud as he turned his head round to look at him. "The shakin's easily remedied, you just gotta do this." Cid pushed another button, a red light flashed and the submarine stopped shaking. "See, no problem. Why don't you take over for a while?" Cid offered as he got off the chair.

"Hmmm…"Cloud mused before smiling and nodding. "Yeah…I can do this…" Cloud reassured himself as he looked at the group. "It'll help me take my mind off my motion sickness, just leave it to me." Cloud told the group as he walked over to the chair and sat down on it.

"An' don't worry, I'll be stood right here and I'll guide you through the controls." Cid informed Cloud as he stood behind him. "Now, you want to steer using the wheel," Cid told Cloud as he pointed to the wheel on the control panel. "An' you push that button there to ascend," Cid pointed to a green button. "An' this button to descend," Cid pointed to a blue button.

"I think I understand now," Cloud replied as he started to steer the submarine. "Aerith, can you look through the telescope and try to find the red sub."

"Ok," Aerith stated as she walked over to the telescope and looked through it. She gave Cloud directions and he followed them, eventually she spotted the red submarine. "I found it!" She exclaimed as everyone in the room looked at her.

"Where is it?" Cloud asked the Cetra.

"It's just ahead of us," Aerith answered.

Cloud nodded and the submarine moved forwards, as the submarine continued to move the guards regained consciousness. "Ooooohhhh…my head…" The captain complained as he looked around to find his comrades sat next to him.

The three looked at each other and tried to move and they were shocked to discover that they couldn't. "What's going on?" One of the soldiers yelled in panic as he struggled wildly.

"Why can't I move?" The other one shouted just as frightened as he too struggled.

Barret pointed his gun arm at them, "I wouldn't try to escape if I were you," he threatened causing the guards to cower in fear again.

"P…please…don't…k…kill us…" the captain pleaded, stumbling on his words because he was so scared.

Zack walked up to the three captive soldiers, "we're not gonna kill ya," he answered. "But we'd appreciate it if you didn't try to escape seen as we're underwater."

"You had no right to take us prisoner!" The captain protested as he struggled against his bonds.

"You'd rather we killed you…" Zack questioned as he stared at the captain.

"N…no…" The captain stammered as he stared fearfully at Zack.

"Then kindly keep your mouth shut, Barret here will be making sure you don't escape." Zack informed the guards before walking off.

Meanwhile the submarine was now very close to the red submarine, "now, fire the torpedoes." Cid told Cloud.

"But won't that destroy the Huge Materia?" Cloud questioned as he stared at Cid.

"Nah," Cid answered. "Just push that button there," he pointed to a red button. Cloud pushed it and several torpedoes were fired at the red submarine. The torpedoes penetrated the red submarine and it sank to the bottom of the sea, as the red submarine sank the hull was ripped open by jagged rocks as it fell revealing the Huge Materia.

"The Huge Materia!" Aerith exclaimed.

"But how do we get it?" Zack asked.

"Hmmm…" Cloud thought as he tapped his leg, he then had another thought. "Zack, how long can you breathe underwater for?"

"Well…forever…I guess," Zack answered as he scratched his head. "Why do you ask?"

"We need you to go out there and get the Huge Materia," Cloud told him.

"Sure," Zack simply stated.

"You're not gonna protest and complain that we always use you for everything?" Cloud questioned as he gave Zack a surprised stare.

"Well this is for the good of the Planet," Zack answered as he walked over to the airlock on the side of the submarine. "If it was for any other reason I probably would've told you where to go."

"Please be careful," Aerith pleaded with Zack as she ran up to him and kissed him on the lips.

"Don't worry," Zack reassured Aerith as he kissed her back. "I'm only goin' to the red sub to get the Huge Materia, it's not like I'm goin' to my doom." Aerith nodded to show that she understood, Zack turned away from Aerith and changed into his Drag Human form before pushing the button at the side of the airlock causing it to open.

Zack stepped into the airlock and the door closed, Zack breathed in and the liquid ivory showed up on his face before becoming solid and forming a face mask over his nose and mouth. Just as he did this the airlock began to fill with water, Zack floated in the water for a few seconds before the second airlock door opened. He swam quickly out of the submarine and made his way to the sunken submarine.

He dived down to the bottom and spotted the Huge Materia poking out of the bottom. He swam over to it and examined it. "Wow…" Zack let out a muffled exclamation, when he had finished looking at it he started to pull it out of the wreckage. He struggled at first but after a while he was able to pull it out of the submarine, he carefully picked it up and slowly made his way back to the submarine.

When he got back to the submarine he pushed the button near the outside airlock door and it opened. Zack swam inside and waited for the water to drain before receding the face mask. The inside airlock door opened and a soaking wet Zack entered the submarine. "I got it," Zack told the group as he showed them the Huge Materia. I guess that adds our total up to three…"

"Put it in my backpack," Aerith offered as she held her open backpack in front of Zack.

"Are you sure it'll fit?" Zack asked as he looked at the bag.

"Of course," Aerith answered. "This bag is magical, it can fit as many items as necessary."

"Wow!" Zack exclaimed as he looked up at Aerith. "How did you get it to do that?"

"Well I guess that's one advantage of being a Cetra," Aerith answered as she smiled at Zack. "I can enchant anything to make it hold more items than it normally can. That Huge Materia would be able to fit in no problem." Zack lifted the Huge Materia up again and carefully lowered it into the back, the Huge Materia easily went into the back.

Cloud was about to congratulate Zack on his success but he was interrupted by the sound of crackling coming from a radio. "All Shinra Submarine Units, do you read?" A distorted male voice spoke up on the radio.

"Shinra are contacting us?" Cloud uttered still in shock from hearing the static so suddenly.

"They don't know that it's us," Tifa told him.

"Report number 2!" The male voice ordered down the radio.

"Number 2…" Cid uttered, "wait…we're number 2, you better answer it Cloud."

"Alright," Cloud replied before picking up the radio. "This is Shinra number 2," Cloud spoke calmly down the radio. "Everything's normal." The three prisoners were about to yell and protest but seeing Barret stroking his gun arm made them change their minds.

"Good," the male voice continued to speak down the radio not realising who he was talking to. "Your next mission is to return to the dock," the male voice began to give out orders. "We will transport the Huge Materia from the airport, those without other assignments will report for guard duty. That is all, over and out." The male voice finally said before the static stopped.

Cloud put the radio down, "I can't believe those suckers fell for it," Cid stated as he laughed loudly.

"I know," Cloud agreed, "come on we need to get back to Junon, I'm taking the sub up." Cloud pushed the green button that Cid pointed out earlier and the submarine surfaced. Cloud steered the submarine to the beach, the group left the submarine through the top and made their way back into Junon.

The group got into the elevator again and made their way to the airport this time. They ran on to the runway just in time to see a strange looking plane take off. "Damn!" Cloud yelled as he kicked the ground, "we missed it!"

"Where's that plane heading too?" Zack questioned as he watched the plane disappear.

"To Rocket Town, where else?" Cid answered, "they're plottin' somethin'! I know they are!"

"We should get back to the Highwind," Tifa suggested, "get to Rocket Town right away." The group nodded in agreement and left the airport, they went down into Junon and returned to the airship. Zack returned to the submarine and grabbed the prisoners and carried them to the airship.

As soon as the group entered the navigational room with Zack following closely behind them they were greeted by everyone else. "How did it go?" Red asked them as he gave the group an inquisitive stare.

"We got it," Zack answered triumphantly, he had long since dried off and reverted to his human form.

Everyone cheered as they knew that they were getting closer to getting all the Huge Materia. Yuffie then noticed the three Shinra guards that were tied up, "why have you brought Shinra guards here?" She questioned as she watched Zack put them on the floor.

"We captured them," Zack answered. "I brought them here so we could keep an eye on them."

"Oh…" Yuffie uttered, "you couldn't be assed killing them could you?"

"Nope," Zack answered with a smirk.

"Alright!" Cid suddenly yelled and everyone fell silent. "We're goin' to Rocket Town! Double time!" Cid ordered his crew.

"Yes sir!" The crew yelled in perfect unison as they all started to use the different controls, the Highwind took off and flew to Rocket Town.

The Highwind landed outside Rocket Town, "alright!" Cid yelled as he started to run out of the navigational room. "I'm goin'! Who's comin' with?" Everyone looked at each other before Cloud, Zack and Aerith volunteered. They followed Cid out of the navigational room and climbed off the airship, they entered Rocket Town and quickly ran towards the rocket. As they got near the rocket they saw countless Shinra guards patrolling it. "What the fuck are they doin' to my rocket?" Cid demanded as he marched towards the soldiers, his spear in hand.

"Cid…" Aerith called out to the pilot, but he wasn't in a listening mood.

"Should we follow him?" Zack questioned as he looked at Cloud, the two men could hear a loud war cry followed by several pained screams as several soldiers were slain by Cid's spear.

"I think Cid'll be fine," Cloud answered as he saw two soldiers being impaled on Cid's spear.

"Screw with my rocket will ya!" Cid yelled as he skewered several more soldiers with his spear. After a while Cid had slain the soldiers patrolling the parameter of the rocket and the rest of the group ran up to him.

"Those were some nice kills Cid," Zack congratulated the pilot. "But next time…let us in on the fun!"

"Eh he…sorry about that," Cid apologised as he scratched the back of his head. "I saw them screwin' with ma rocket and I just lost it."

"Well I just saw more soldiers go inside the rocket," Zack informed Cid as he pointed at the rocket.

"You did…" Cid questioned before running towards the rocket.

Cloud and Aerith scowled at Zack, "cruel Zack," Cloud muttered as he rolled his eyes. "Very cruel."

"But cunning…" Zack stated as he smirked at Cloud.

"No, just cruel," Cloud retorted as he smirked back at Cloud.

"Still, it's the fastest I've ever seen Cid run though." Zack joked as Cloud snickered, "There's life in the old bird yet." Aerith raised her eyebrows at the two men, "what?" Zack asked as he stared at Aerith, Aerith just sighed and shook her head before following Cid.

Cid killed the soldiers on the launch pad, "Get the fuck offa my rocket!" Cid yelled as he climbed up the ladder, Cloud, Zack and Aerith followed him, as soon as they reached the top they were greeted by Rude.

"You again…" Rude uttered still in his usual manner as he scowled at the group.

"Yeah it's us," Zack shot back. "And you better get out of our way."

Rude sighed before stepping forwards and getting into a fighting stance, "Well it's good to see that you're back to normal Zack," Rude stated, Zack was about to respond but Rude just interrupted him. "But I'm afraid I can't let you pass, I will eliminate anyone who gets in Shinra's way."

"Well if you'd have done your job properly you'd have eliminated us ages ago…" Zack muttered sarcastically.

Rude cracked his knuckles just as Zack raised his fists, however before Zack could throw a punch Cid stepped in front of him. "Let me take this one," Cid demanded before punching Rude in the face knocking him out.

"Nice punch," Cloud remarked.

"Thanks," Cid replied gratefully, "now let's get ma rocket back!" The group stepped over Rude and entered the rocket where they saw another guard but the group easily disposed of him. The group entered the control room and they saw Cid's old technicians working on the ship. "What the hell are y'all doin'?" Cid demanded so suddenly that all the technicians stopped what they were doing and turned round to face Cid.

"Hey captain!" One of the technicians exclaimed when he saw Cid, "just when we thought somethin' was goin' on, you came back."

"Listen captain, we're gonna launch the rocket," another technician informed him.

"What the hell are ya talkin' about?" Cid demanded not taking his eyes off the technicians.

"We're gonna load a materia bomb in the rocket and we're gonna ram it into Meteor," the technician that had first spoken answered. "Our rocket's gonna save the Planet!"

"Man! This is so cool!" Another technician yelled excitedly as he punched the air with his fist.

"Wait a minute…" Cloud started to protest as he, Zack and Aerith stared at the technicians in shock.

"Just shut the fuck up!" Cid yelled as he glared angrily at the group, he then turned back to face the technicians. "How's the rocket?" He questioned out of concern for his old rocket.

"Well it's pretty much ok," one of the technicians answered. "But…we planned for the rocket to go into auto-pilot, but the most important device is broken."

"Broken…how's the repair goin'?" Cid questioned eager to find out more.

"Shera's doing it," the technician answered as he gave Cid a nervous stare.

Cid just scowled at him, "Oh great!" He yelled at the top of his lungs causing the technicians to cower. "What a buncha wizards you are! Shera's gonna take 100 years!"

"Wait, that might not necessarily be a bad thing," Zack spoke up as he approached Cid and placed his hand on the pilot's shoulder in an effort to calm him down. "I mean, it could give us enough time to get the Huge Materia and bail out of here before the rocket even takes off."

"Hmmm…" Cid uttered as he thought about Zack's plan, "I've waited ma life for this moment." Cid walked away from Cid and over to the controls. "Don't worry boys," Cid reassured the technicians as he turned round to face them. "I'm gonna take over, don't worry about the auto-pilot, go and tell everyone that there's been a change in plan."

"Yes sir!" The technicians yelled in perfect unison as they saluted Cid before running out of the control room and leaving the rocket.

Cloud, Aerith and Zack walked over to Cid. "Are you sure this is wise?" Aerith asked the pilot, Cid turned round to face the group but he said nothing. "All the knowledge and wisdom of my people is in materia, we need that power and wisdom to save the Planet."

"Aerith's right," Zack agreed, "The Huge Materia is important and letting the Shinra use it to blow Meteor up seems like a waste."

"You understand where we're coming from, right?" Cloud asked as he, Zack and Aerith gave Cid hopeful stares.

"Yeah, I understand what y'all sayin'," Cid answered as he nodded his head. "I know how precious materia is and I understand what you're thinkin', but listen, I don't care if it's magic or science that saves the Planet." He admitted as he gave the group a serious look before nodding.

"No, if I had to choose I'd put ma money on science," everyone continued to stare at Cid. "A long time ago, humans were only able to get around on foot, now we can fly." Cid explained to the group, "and now, finally we can go into outer space. Sure materia contains the power of the Cetra, but science is a power created and developed by humans, and I believe that it's science that can save the planet." Cid stated passionately as he raised a fist before turning away from the group. "Thanks to science I was able to earn a livin', so as far as I'm concerned there's nothin' greater. But feel free to disagree with me if y'all want to," everyone remained silent taking in what Cid was saying. Cid lowered his fist and he turned back towards the group, "Now quit worryin' about what Shinra's gonna do, I don't wanna have to regret not doin' somethin' later."

"But Cid…" Cloud tried to reason with his friend as he walked up to him, but the pilot just pushed him away.

"Shut up!" He yelled angrily as he glared at Cloud, "I don't wanna hear it! Alright, time to get back to work! Anyone who's not involved get the hell offa ma rocket now!" The group didn't move, they didn't want to leave Cid on his own. Cid gave a satisfied nod and was about to say something when the engine suddenly switched on. "What the hell?" Cid yelled as he ran over to the control panel, "what the fuck happened?"

In answer to Cid's question the radio began to emit static, "Hey, hey!" A familiar voice yelled down the radio.

"That sounds like Palmer," Zack spoke up as he recognised the voice.

"Palmer!" Cid yelled as he picked up the radio, "what the hell did you do?"

"They said they'd finished repairing the auto-pilot, so I launched it," Palmer answered cheerfully.

"Goddamn it Shera!" Cid cursed angrily, "why did she have to pick today to get fast?" Cid began to randomly punch the buttons in order to override the auto-pilot. "Damn it, it won't budge!" Cid yelled angrily, the controls are locked up!"

"Hey, hey! Almost lift off!" Palmer informed the group over the radio.

"What? No countdown!" Cid shouted down the radio before sighing, "It just ain't the same without it."

"Hey, hey! BLAST OFF!" Palmer yelled enthusiastically before the radio went dead.

Before anyone could say anything the engines started to ignite as the silent countdown reached zero. When the engines reached their full capacity the rocket started to take off blowing trees and tyres away as it finally took off into outer space. Cid sighed happily as he looked out of the window to see the stars, "I made it, outer space…" he uttered in awe hardly daring to believe that he was fulfilling his dream.

"It is beautiful," Aerith admitted as she looked out of the window. "And to think, about a month back I've never left Midgar before."

"Hey Cid, congratulations on fulfilling your dream," Zack remarked as he smiled at Cid.

"Thanks," Cid replied gratefully as he smiled back, he then came to his senses and walked over to the control panel. "Now, let's see how the course is set," he stated as he pushed a button on the control panel causing a hologram of the rocket heading for Meteor to appear on the screen. "Yep, we're on a collision course with Meteor."

"There must be something we could do," Aerith uttered as she looked over at Cid. "I mean, if the rocket keeps going we'll all be…" Aerith couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence, Zack wrapped his arm round her to comfort her.

"Palmer went out of his way to lock the auto-pilot device," Cid explained as he pushed another button causing the hologram to disappear. "We won't even be able to change course."

"So…this is it…" Cloud uttered pessimistically.

Cid turned round to stare at Cloud, "what the fuck are you on about?" He questioned hardly daring to believe how pessimistic Cloud was being. "You're still young and you're actin' like this is the end!"

"Well, we're on a collision course with Meteor and there's no way we can override the auto-pilot," Zack told Cid the situation. "Cloud's not being pessimistic, he's just being realistic."

"Realistic my ass!" Cid yelled at the group, "I have no intention of crashin' into Meteor, so just watch." Cid stated as he turned back to the control panel and pushed several buttons causing red lines and messages to appear on the screen. "It just so happens that I keep an escape pod on the rocket for emergencies like this," Cid informed the group as he walked over to a hatch and turned some dials. "I deciphered the lock code on the escape pod," Cid continued as he turned the last dial. "We'll bail right before we crash into Meteor."

Cloud, Zack and Aerith looked at each other before Aerith walked up to Cid. "But…what about the Huge Materia?" She asked, "We can't leave without that."

Cid sighed before turning to Aerith and nodding. "If you want the materia, do whatever you want," he answered. "The materia should be there right after you climb the ladder," he told the group as he pointed to a ladder.

"Are you sure it's there?" Zack questioned Cid.

"I dunno," Cid replied as he shook his head. "But I know what I said a minute ago." Cid then looked up, "but…maybe all I wanted to do was go into outer space." Cid looked down at the group again, "so, why don't y'all do what you think is right."

The group nodded and they climbed up the ladder that Cid had pointed to earlier and they found themselves in a circular room with a glass case in the middle, the group saw the Huge Materia in there. "There it is!" Cloud exclaimed as the group walked closer to it, "we found it."

As the group got closer to the glass case Cid began to examine it, "I see…" He uttered as the group looked at him. "We should be able to get the Huge Materia if we enter the code into this panel." He explained as he pointed to the control panel under the glass case. "If we enter the right code we should be able to get the Huge Mater, now, this thing looks a little fiddly so I'd better do it." Cid was about to enter the code when Zack stopped him.

"Wait a minute spaceman," Zack spoke to Cid as he pulled the pilot away from the panel. "I've been in Shinra for a while too so I could probably guess the code."

"But…" Cid started to protest, but Zack had already started punching in the code. A moment later the control panel bleeped and the glass case opened.

Everyone stared at Zack in shock, "Zack, what code did you put in?" Aerith questioned not taking her eyes off Zack.

"Your birthday," Zack answered as he smirked at Aerith.

Cid chuckled when he heard that, "What were the odds of that actually bein' the right code?" He asked half to himself. "Right…you can get the Huge Materia now." Zack took the Huge Materia out of the glass case and put it into Aerith's bag.

The group then climbed back down the ladder and entered the hatch that Cid had opened earlier. They walked through the oxygen tank room, but as they walked passed one of the oxygen tanks it exploded. Zack, Cloud and Aerith all leapt back in panic and smoke filled the room. When the smoke cleared the group saw Cid lying on the floor, with debris on top of his leg. "Aaaaaaaaaahhh!" Cid yelled in pain as he struggled to free his leg, "My leg's stuck in the debris!"

"Cid!" Cloud yelled as he, Zack and Aerith ran over to him and tried to lift up the debris.

"It's too heavy…" Aerith uttered as she continued to try and lift it up.

"I know…this is too heavy for even me," Zack stated as he struggled to lift the debris up.

"Don't worry about me!" Cid called to the group, "hurry up and go! If you don't the rocket's gonna crash into Meteor!"

"Don't be stupid Cid!" Zack yelled to the pilot as he along with Cloud and Aerith continued to struggle to free him. "We're not gonna leave you behind!"

"Lousy Mother Fucker!" Cid cursed as he tried to push the group away, "you're all stupid you know that! This ain't the time to be worryin' about others!"

"We're gonna do whatever we can Cid!" Cloud tried to reassure the pilot.

"You're all stupid!" Cid shouted again completely ignoring Cloud, Cid then held his head as he realised something. "Tank number 8 blew up…" he uttered a little quieter. "Tank number 8 really was malfunctioning…" Cid sighed as he leaned back and looked at the ceiling, a single tear escaped from his eye. "Shera…you were right…" Cid continued as he covered his face to try and stop himself from crying. "But…this is the end for me…"

The group could hear the sound of a door sliding open, "don't say that Cid," a familiar voice suddenly spoke up.

The group looked up and they saw a woman wearing a white lab coat walk up to them. "Shera!" Cid yelled actually glad to see the woman again.

"I tagged along," Shera informed the group as she stopped in front of them. "I'm here to help," she offered as she knelt down and helped the others to lift up the debris. "You stupid…" Cid started to insult Shera, however the woman ignored him as she continued to help Cloud, Zack and Aerith. "Sorry…" Cid apologised to Shera for the first time in his life.

"It's alright," Shera accepted Cid's apology. "I'm used to your insults, now hold still we've almost got you out." The group continued to lift up the debris and Cid was finally free. Shera helped him up, "come on, I'll help you." Cid was about to protest but he knew that at the moment he should just accept Shera's help, Cid nodded and Shera helped him through the door that she had come out off. The rest of the group followed and they entered another room. "The escape pod is this way," Shera informed the group. "Please hurry."

The group continued and reached escape pod, Shera gently helps Cid into it before moving aside and letting everyone else enter. "Hurry," she told them, "I'm going to detach the escape pod." The group entered the escape pod one by one and eventually Shera entered it.

"Hey Shera, can this pod really fly?" Cid asked as he looked up at the woman.

Shera nodded, "it'll be ok," she answered reassuringly. "I've been checking it up until now."

Cid opened his mouth, he was about to say something but he closed his mouth again. "Well, I'm relieved." Cid finally said as he smiled at Shera.

Shera stared at Cid shocked at what he had said, "…thanks," Shera replied unsure of what to think. Nevertheless she smiled back at Cid and pushed a button before sitting down.

The escape pod detached itself from the rocket and the remaining bit of rocket pulled away from the escape pod leaving it to float towards the Planet. Inside the pod everyone was looking out the small circular window. "So…this is outer space…" he uttered as he saw the sparkling stars. "Man…this is the real thing…I'm actually here in outer space…"

"It really puts everything into perspective," Zack stated. "Still, it's amazing to actually be here."

Cid looked up and he saw the rocket soaring above the escape pod, "so long Shinra 26," Cid whispered to himself as the Planet came into view. As the escape pod entered the Planet's atmosphere, the rocket continued on its collision course and crashed into Meteor causing it to explode and for a bright white light to flare up. In Midgar and Cosmo Canyon the people were shielding their eyes to protect them from the bright white glare. Bugen Hagen was in his lab, he too shielded his eyes as a mini Meteor in his model universe emitted a white glare. After a while the white glare subsided and everyone opened their eyes, in Midgar someone pointed up to the sky and everyone looked up to see that Meteor was still there, it was damaged and electricity sparked from it but otherwise it was still there above the Planet looming over it like a vulture. The people all sighed and cried as they saw that Meteor wasn't destroyed, Bugen Hagen shook his head sadly as he saw the miniature Meteor was still there.

Meanwhile the escape pod had crash landed in the water and the group had safely returned to the Highwind. Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Aerith and Zack all looked out of the window while Cid was sat down next to the control panel looking down. "Shinra's plan…it was a failure…" Cloud uttered sadly.

"Let me guess, you were kind of hoping it would work?" Zack questioned as he looked at Cloud.

"Yeah," Cloud answered as he nodded his head.

"Me too," Barret stated, "as much as I hate the Shinra I was hopin' that they'd at least get somethin' right."

Cait Sith sighed as he walked over to the group, "We've been botherin' them as much as we can," he told the group sadly. "But there ain't no other way…were we wrong all this time?"

"Makes you worry doesn't it?" Red questioned as he looked at the group.

"Don't worry, think," Tifa told the group. "There must be something we can do."

"Tifa's right," Cid agreed as he looked up at her. "You start worryin' and there's no stoppin' it! Things just start fallin' apart and gettin' worse and worse."

Barret just stared at Cid, "you seem optimistic all of a sudden…" he stated as he raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah…" Zack agreed, "Are you sick or somethin'?"

"No, I'm not!" Cid yelled at Zack before standing up and walking towards the group. "But I have been doin' a lot of thinkin' since we got back," he admitted.

"You...think…" Yuffie uttered, "Don't make me laugh…"

"Shut up Yuffie, or I'll dunk yer head in a bucket of yer own vomit!" Cid threatened as he scowled at Yuffie.

"Just kidding…" Yuffie stated nervously before falling silent.

"Now where was I?" Cid asked half to himself, "oh yeah…all the time we've been up there lookin' at the Planet. I've been thinkin' even when we were floatin' in the ocean in that escape pod."

"I've been thinking too," Cloud stated as he turned to look at his friends. "About the universe…planet…ocean…How wide, how big, no matter where I go and what I do it won't change a thing."

Cid looked at Cloud and shook his head, "maybe you're right," Cid told him as Cloud turned back round to look out of the window. "But I came up with something different," Cid informed the group as they gathered round him. "I always thought this planet was huge," Cid started explain, a hint of seriousness in his voice. "But lookin' at it from space, I realised it's so small."

"Yeah…I thought that too," Zack stated as he nodded in agreement. "Being in outer space kind of changes your view of life."

"I know what you mean," Cid responded as he looked at Zack. "The Planet's just floatin' in the dark…kind of makes you feel powerless…" He sighed sadly to himself, "on top of that it's got Sephiroth festerin' inside it like some disease." Cid sighed again as he turned away from the group, "that's why I say this planet's still a kid. A little kid who's sick and tremblin' in the middle of this huge universe, someone's gotta protect it." He turned round and face the group again, "Y'all follow me?" Cid asked the group, "that someone is us!"

"Cid…that's the most beautiful speech I ever heard you say," Aerith stated as she smiled at the man.

"Yeah," Zack agreed, "it's the first time you've said something without swearing in every sentence."

Cid scowled at Zack but he said nothing, "Yo Cid, you even got to me," Barret admitted as he smiled at the pilot.

"Yeah, and Barret's normally a hard ass," Zack stated causing Barret to turn round and point his gun arm at him. "It was meant to be a compliment…" Zack stated quickly.

Barret sighed and pulled his gun arm away from Zack before facing Cid again. "So, how are we gonna protect the Planet from Meteor?" He asked as the group stared eagerly at Cid.

Cid looked from person to the other before sitting back down again and leaning against the control panel. "Errrrrrrrrr…I still need to think about that…" Cid finally said as everyone groaned and turned away from him.

"Great…" Zack muttered as he rolled his eyes, "even with that inspirational speech we still don't have a plan."

The group began to return to their usual places but Red suddenly pricked his ears up as he heard something. "Huh…" He uttered before bounding up to the group, "Do you hear that?" He asked his friends, everyone listened out just as the Planet started to cry.

"It's the Planet…" Aerith answered as she closed her eyes.

"Or it could be Meteor…" Tifa stated as she too closed her eyes.

"No…it's definitely this Planet," Aerith informed the group as she opened her eyes. "It's in pain, even more so than it was before…It wants us to defeat Meteor."

"But how?" Zack asked her, "we don't even have a plan."

"The Planet has faith in us," Aerith told Zack as she placed her hand on top of his to reassure him. "It says we'll think of a way."

"Wait a minute," Cloud cut in as he stared at Aerith. "How do we know it's even the Planet's scream?"

"Because I'm a Cetra," Aerith answered. "I'm tuned to these things, besides, Bugen Hagen told us, remember?"

Cloud nodded, "Bugen Hagen…" he uttered the old man's name.

"How could we forget that?" Tifa questioned.

"In a dire situation it's difficult to remember the words of wisdom that friends give us," Vincent answered calmly from his usual spot.

"Yes, you're right," Red nodded agreeing with the dark man. "That's why we should go to Cosmo Canyon and speak to my grandfather, he'll know what to do."

"Alright…you heard the red mutt!" Cid began to bark orders at the co-pilots. "We're headin' to the most borin' place in the world!"

"Do you mind?" Red muttered in an offended tone as he scowled at Cid. "That is my hometown you're talking about."

"Whatever…" Cid uttered dismissively, "Just get us to Cosmo Canyon!"

"Errr…Cid," Shera spoke up for the first time in a while. "I need to get back to Rocket Town."

Cid sighed, "alright, we'll drop Shera off at Rocket Town. Then we'll head to Cosmo Canyon!" Cid told everyone the change of plan.

"Yes sir!" The co-pilots yelled before operating the controls. The Highwind made its way back to Rocket Town and dropped Shera off before heading to Cosmo Canyon where the group could hopefully shed a new light on the Meteor situation.

* * *

**Finally Chapter 15 is complete, sorry it took so long I've just been busy with other things. Chapter 16 will be coming soon. Final Fantasy VII and its contents and characters belong to Square-Enix. All the other films and parodies belong to their respective owners. **


	16. The Fall of Shinra

**Chapter 16: The Fall of Shinra **

It was fast approaching nightfall by the time the Highwind landed at the base of Cosmo Canyon and the group were now climbing up the steps. The guard at the door saw them coming and automatically moved out of the way and saluted them as they walked passed, "I could get used to this," Zack stated as he smirked at the group.

"Just remember that we're here to seek grandpa's advice," Red reminded the man as he walked in front of the group. Red led the group into the canyon and they eventually arrived at Bugen Hagen's observatory at the top of the canyon. Cloud opened the door and everyone entered the observatory, "grandpa, are you home?" Red called out as his voice echoed throughout the building.

"I'm in the lab," came the reply, the group walked to the back of the building and entered the door to see Bugen Hagen stood there waiting for them.

"Ho, ho, ho," Bugen Hagen greeted the group in his usual manner as he smiled at them. "If you are ever in need of my wisdom, you are always welcome."

"Actually, that's why we're here." Cloud told Bugen Hagen as he walked towards the old man. "We don't know what to do."

"Hmmm…" Bugen Hagen mused as he thought about the situation. "So you have all lost your way…" he questioned as he looked inquisitively at the group.

"Yes," Aerith answered. "I did something in the city of the Ancients, but…I can't fully remember what it is that I've done. I know it was to save the planet but…" Aerith explained however she trailed off.

"Do not be afraid my child," Bugen Hagen reassured Aerith as he walked over to her. "If you are unsure of what to do next then you must look deep inside yourself. In fact, you must all look deep inside yourselves, then you will find the answer."

Everyone closed their eyes to try and think of the key to the whole situation, but try as they might they couldn't think of it. "I can't remember a damn thing…" Barret commented as he opened his eyes.

"We're not Cetra," Red stated as he hung his head. "So, it would be difficult for us to comprehend…"

"Whatever you did Aerith, it had a major impact on the planet in some way," Zack remarked as he looked over at Aerith. "Come on Aerith…think…you're the only one who could possibly remember…"

"I wish I could remember," Aerith sincerely told the group as she clasped her hands together. "But I can't…because I wasn't fully aware at the time, I knew what I had to do but I was doing it on a subconscious level…when you saved me from being killed by Sephiroth…it snapped me out of my trance…"

"But it was a prayer of some kind, wasn't it?" Zack asked as he looked at Aerith. "Because you were kneeling down and muttering something under your breath…but we couldn't quite make it out…"

"But a prayer about what?" Tifa questioned as she looked at the group. "What were you praying to?"

"The answer is in the City of the Ancients," Aerith answered as she looked at her friend.

"You sure you wanna go back there…" Zack asked as he looked at Aerith.

"Of course," Aerith answered as she nodded. "It's the only way we can find out the truth and find a way to defeat Sephiroth."

"Then it's settled," Bugen Hagen spoke up as he walked passed the group to the door. "We're all going to the City of the Ancients."

"Grandpa…you're going too…" Red uttered as he and his friends stared at the old man in shock.

"Why is that so surprising?" Bugen Hagen demanded as he stared at the group. "You think exploring is just for the young…" Cid was about to say something but Red scowled at him. "Exactly," Bugen Hagen continued as he ignored what was happening. "There are times when even I want to get out and see the outside world… you know, I wonder what's coming over me…I haven't felt this invigorated in years."

"Maybe it's the Planet," Red suggested as he smiled at his grandfather. "Maybe it's calling you."

"Right…" Cid muttered sceptically, "the Planet…crazy…" Cid uttered as he tried to pass the last word off as a cough, this caused everyone to scowl at him.

"The Planet works in very mysterious ways Cid," Aerith informed the pilot as she walked passed him. "Please bear that in mind."

"Whatever…" Cid muttered dismissively. "Let's just get goin'…" He continued to mutter as he left the room, one by one everyone started to leave the room except for Zack, Cloud and Aerith.

"Bugen Hagen, we have a request," Zack said to the old man.

"What is it?" Bugen Hagen asked.

"We've been collecting Huge Materia on our travels," Cloud started to explain the situation to Bugen Hagen. "And we need a place to keep it."

"I see, well you're more than welcome to keep it in my lab," Bugen Hagen offered.

"You're most kind," Aerith replied gratefully.

"You're very welcome my dear," Bugen Hagen commented as he nodded at Aerith. "Come along and I'll show you how to activate the elevator." Zack, Aerith and Cloud got on to one side of the elevator while Bugen Hagen got on the other side. "Now watch carefully, to get to the lab upstairs you pull this lever here," Bugen Hagen instructed as he pulled on the lever.

The elevator activated and moved up and the four found themselves in the space like lab. "I still think this place is beautiful," Aerith commented as she looked around the room.

"Come on Aerith, we don't have time to sightsee," Zack reminded the Cetra. "Let's just leave the Huge Materia here and go."

"Ok…" Aerith uttered before opening her bag, the four Huge Materia floated out of the bag and drifted over to different areas of the lab.

"Ho, ho, ho," Bugen Hagen laughed enthusiastically as he examined the Huge Materia. "So this is Huge Materia, this is very rare Materia indeed."

"This is no ordinary Materia," Aerith remarked as she walked over to the large blue Materia. "It's said that if ordinary Materia is near Huge Materia something magical happens." Aerith was now up close to the blue Huge Materia and as she reached out to touch it her materia pouch glowed. "Huh…" Aerith uttered as she looked down and one of the summon Materia floated out of the pouch and a silhouette of Neo Bahamut rose out of the Materia and flew into the Huge Materia.

Aerith, Cloud, Zack and Bugen Hagen stared in awe and shielded their eyes as they were met by a bright glare. They could hear a deep growling sound and they opened their eyes to see a silhouette of a silver coloured dragon with six wings emerge out of the Huge Materia and hover in midair, it looked down at Aerith and nodded at her before a new summon Materia formed underneath it and it went into the new Materia as the old one disappeared. Aerith picked the new Materia up and looked at it. "This truly is remarkable," Bugen Hagen commented as he, Cloud and Zack walked over to Aerith. "One of your Materia reacted with the Huge Materia and it formed an entirely new one…this is a rare sight in deed."

"I'll say…" Zack uttered in awe, "I remember the same thing happened in the Northern Crater, I wonder what causes it…"

"There was so much spirit energy up there," Aerith answered as she looked at Zack. "Hmmm…this one is even more powerful than Neo Bahamut…I think I'll call it Bahamut Zero," Aerith decided as she smiled at the new Materia.

"Why Bahamut Zero?" Cloud asked as he stared at Aerith.

"I just like the name," Aerith answered as she shrugged. "Come on, we should get going."

"Yes of course," Bugen Hagen replied as he led the group to the elevator. "You all remember how to work the elevator don't you?" He asked as he looked at the three, they all nodded and Bugen Hagen smiled at them. "Jolly good, just remember that you can come back any time to check up on the Huge Materia." Bugen Hagen kindly offered the three as they all left the observatory to catch up with the others. Eventually they were all back on the Highwind and were on their way to the far North. Bugen Hagen was looking round the airship with keen interest, "hmmm…smells like machinery," he remarked as he closely examined the machinery. "I love that smell, but I also love the smell of nature, is that the deck up there?" He questioned as he looked at Cloud, Zack and Aerith.

"Yeah," Zack answered as he nodded.

"Then I shall be up on deck passing the time," Bugen Hagen informed the group as he smiled at them. "Bye for now," Bugen Hagen continued as he hobbled up the steps to the deck. Everyone then went their separate ways to do their own thing.

An hour later the group had arrived at the Northern Continent, "alright, we're approachin' the City of the Ancients now!" Cid's voice echoed throughout the Highwind as he yelled down the intercom. "I'm gonna have to land outside the city which means we have a walk ahead of us, oh, and because the old fart is with us we'll have to be extra vigilant!"

"My grandfather may be old!" Red snapped at Cid as he bared his teeth at the pilot. "But he's not a fart…"

"Just shut up and let me land this bloody thing!" Cid yelled as he pulled back on the lever so that he could safely land the ship. A few minutes later the Highwind landed just outside the City of the Ancients and everyone started to make the short walk to the entrance.

"So this is the City of the Ancients…" Bugen Hagen commented as he stared round the ruined place in awe.

"This is just the surface," Aerith informed the old man as she too looked around and she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. "The real City of the Ancients is underground, it's protected by a hidden passage way that will only open up at night."

"I see," Bugen Hagen remarked before looking at Aerith. "Well you seem to know where you're going so lead the way." Aerith nodded and she started to walk down the left path, everyone followed her and they soon entered a large cave with what looked like a shrine in the middle. "This is…" Bugen Hagen started to say as he limped through the various tunnels until he reached the shrine and began to examine it. "Yes…exactly…"

"What is it?" Aerith questioned as she stared inquisitively at Bugen Hagen, "have you found something?"

"Give me a moment," Bugen Hagen told the group as he continued to examine the shrine. The group then ran through the various caverns and made their way to the shrine where the old man was.

"Remember anything Aerith?" Zack asked as he gave Aerith an eager glance.

"Nothing yet," Aerith answered as she shook her head. "Maybe this shrine will give us a clue."

Aerith walked over to where Bugen Hagen was and watched as he read the inscription on the Shrine, she too read it and was shocked. "The knowledge of the Ancients swirling round this place is telling me one thing," Bugen Hagen started to say.

"That the Planet is in danger," Aerith replied as she gave Bugen Hagen a worried glance.

"Exactly my dear," Bugen Hagen remarked as he gave the group a solemn glance. "A crisis beyond human power or endless time, it says, when the time comes, we must search for Holy."

"Holy?" Zack questioned as he gave Bugen Hagen a confused stare and he saw that he wasn't alone in this. "What's that?"

"Holy is the ultimate white magic," Bugen Hagen explained as he paced round the shrine. "It's the only magic that could stand against Meteor, perhaps it is our last hope to save the Planet." Bugen Hagen raised his head slightly and held his hands behind his back. "If a soul seeking Holy reaches the Planet, it will appear."

Aerith thought for a moment as she listened to Bugen Hagen's words, _"a soul that seeks Holy…" _She repeated the words in her head. _"Is that the power I was searching for when I was trying to save the Planet from Sephiroth…is that what I was praying to?"_

Aerith didn't muse upon it further as Bugen Hagen started to say more, "ho, ho, ho, Meteor, Weapon, everything will disappear," he continued enthusiastically as he bounced up and down. "Perhaps even ourselves…" he whispered slightly more darkly to the group.

"So…even we could disappear from the face of the Planet?" Cloud questioned clearly not liking that idea.

"I'd hate to disappear!" Yuffie yelled as she cast Bugen Hagen a frightened look. "Think of all the undiscovered Materia out there…"

"On the other hand if you were to disappear it would do us all a big favour…" Cid muttered under his breath causing Yuffie to scowl at him.

"But surely we won't just disappear…" Tifa uttered quickly changing the subject as she stared hopefully at Bugen Hagen.

"It is up to the Planet to decide," he answered as he looked at the raven haired woman. "What is best for the Planet, what is bad for the Planet. All that is bad will disappear, that is all I have been able to decipher." He turned away from the group, "ho, ho, ho, I wonder which we humans are?" He asked half to himself.

"How do we find Holy?" Zack questioned as he gave Bugen Hagen a confused stare.

"It's simple," the old man answered as he turned back towards the group. "Speak with the Planet, get the White Materia, it will bind the Planet to humans," Bugen Hagen started to explain, Aerith's eyes grew wide as she thought about this. "Then speak with the Planet," Bugen Hagen continued, "if our wish reaches the Planet then the White Materia will glow pale green."

Aerith let out a sob as she fell to her knees, "Aerith, are you ok?" Zack asked with concern as he knelt down beside her.

"This is the end..." Aerith uttered as she struggled to support her own weight from the shock.

"This isn't like you to talk like that," Zack told Aerith as he gave her a concerned look.

"You don't understand…" Aerith stated sadly as she forced her way out of Zack's arms and staggered around before managing to support herself. "I had the White Materia with me all along…" she started to tell the group. "I used it to pray to the Planet, but…when Sephiroth tried to kill me it fell into the lake…and we can't get it back…and I don't even know if my prayer reached the Planet or not…"

"It'll be ok Aerith," Zack reassured the Cetra as he wrapped his arms round her to support her. "Is there any way we can find out if Aerith's prayer reached the Planet?" Zack asked as he gave Bugen Hagen a hopeful look.

Bugen Hagen said nothing for a moment, he walked over to the shrine and began to examine it more closely. "Look at this," he suddenly spoke up as everyone gathered round him. "Ancients' writing."

"Can you read it?" Cloud questioned as he looked eagerly at the old man.

"I can't even make it out," Bugen Hagen admitted as he shook his head.

"Quit jokin' old man!" Cid yelled in a frustrated tone as glared at Bugen Hagen.

"I'm not joking," Bugen Hagen replied sincerely. "I'm not an Ancient, I can't read it."

"Aerith, you're part Cetra," Red spoke up as he looked inquisitively at Aerith. "Perhaps you could try and decode it."

"It's not a language I'm overly familiar with," Aerith replied as she walked over to the altar. "But I'll give it a try," she offered as she knelt down beside Bugen Hagen and started to look at the writing. "It is difficult to make out, but look, there's writing in chalk." She stated as she pointed at some writing that wasn't engraved in the wall. _"Even sunlight can't reach…key…" _Aerith read the words out loud. "I wonder what it means…"

"It's more than likely written by a scientist who's been here," Bugen Hagen answered as he too examined the writing and rubbed his chin as he did so. "He probably used up all his energy just to make out those few words."

"But what's it a key of?" Zack asked as he stared at Aerith and Bugen Hagen with a confused expression on his face.

"I'm not sure," Aerith answered as she looked back at Zack. "But maybe it could help us solve the puzzle."

"So we use those notes to find this mysterious key…" Yuffie uttered as she rolled her eyes. "Great…we should be out there stopping Meteor…"

"This key could help us find a way to stop Meteor," Vincent replied as he glared at Yuffie. "Weren't you listening?"

"Lighten up Vincent," Yuffie stated completely changing the subject. "I hate it when you're a grumpy guts…" she spoke in a light voice as she hugged Vincent, Vincent sighed before pushing Yuffie off him.

"Young love…" Tifa stated as she smiled at Vincent and Yuffie.

"I don't love her…" Vincent muttered as he folded his arms and scowled at Tifa.

"You're so easy to wind up," Yuffie scoffed, Vincent scowled at her. "Shutting up…" she uttered quickly before falling silent.

"Use these words as a clue to help find the key," Bugen Hagen advised the group ignoring the disagreement between Yuffie and Vincent. "Me and Aerith will continue to figure out this Ancient writing."

"A place even sunlight won't reach is where the key is, that's the clue right?" Cloud questioned as he looked at Bugen Hagen and Aerith.

"Yes," Aerith answered as she nodded. "Once you find the key or you need any more clues come back here, maybe by then we'll understand more of the text."

"Ok, be careful," Zack told Aerith as he kissed her on the lips.

"I'll be fine," Aerith replied as she kissed Zack back. "You be careful."

"I will," Zack promised before he, Cloud, Tifa and Cid left the shrine area. "A place where sunlight won't reach…" Zack reminded himself of the clue before sighing. "Why do I get the feeling that it's underwater…" he questioned as he stared glumly at the ground.

"It could be anywhere," Cloud stated as the four ended up at the three paths and walked back to the entrance of the City of the Ancients.

"Well…before when we were in the submarine the radar detected something…" Tifa informed the group as she gave them a sheepish grin.

"What?" Zack questioned as he lifted his head up and ran over to Tifa. "Why the hell didn't you say anything before?"

"I didn't think it was relevant," Tifa answered as she shrunk back slightly.

"Well it's possible that the thing the sub's radar detected is the key," Cid stated as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Which means we need to head back to Junon and get the sub." The group ran out of the City of the Ancients and entered the Highwind and quickly made their way back to Junon.

When they arrived in Junon the four got into the sub and Cloud steered it under the water until the radar blipped. "There it is," Tifa uttered as she pointed at the radar. "That's the exact same signal as before."

"Are you sure?" Cloud questioned as he looked at Tifa.

"Yes," Tifa answered as she nodded. "It looks like it's in a cave, but the sub won't be able to fit through the entrance."

"Which means one of us will have to get out there and get the damn thing," Cid replied as he slammed his fist into an open palm. "Someone who's a damn good swimmer and someone who can last a while under there…" Cid, Tifa and Cloud then all turned round and stared at Zack.

"Why are you all staring at me?" Zack questioned as he looked from Cloud to Tifa to Cid.

"Zack, we need you to swim to that cave and get the key," Tifa told Zack as she walked over to him.

"Hell no!" Zack yelled as he shook his head wildly. "I'm not gonna swim to some cave…there could be all sorts of monsters lurking around in these waters!"

"You were fine when you went out there to get the Huge Materia," Cloud reminded his friend.

"That's because we were right next to the damn thing…" Zack told Cloud as he glared at the blond haired man. "And I was only a minute at least…this key is far away from our current location and there are probably monsters out there…"

"But you're the fastest swimmer we've got, and you can breathe underwater," Cloud stated as he sighed. "You're our only hope Zack."

"Please Zack," Tifa pleaded as she gave Zack a cute look.

Zack growled for a moment before sighing, "Fine…" he gave in as he transformed into his drag human form. "But if I die out there I just want you to know that my soul will haunt you guys for the rest of your natural lives…"

"Yeah, yeah…" Cloud stated dismissively as he put the submarine into autopilot and walked over to Zack. "Take this," Cloud continued as he gave Zack a headset. "It'll enable us to contact you, we'll also be keeping an eye on your movements with the radar and if you run into any trouble, depending on where you are we'll give you back up."

"Yeah, if I'm screaming 'bloody murder' down the microphone you'll know that I'm in trouble," Zack remarked wittily as he put the ear piece in his ear and purple ivory covered his mouth and nose and solidified creating a mask. Zack then walked over to the airlock and opened the first door, the door locked automatically and Zack waited as the airlock filled with water, he floated there for a few seconds before the second airlock door opened and Zack swam out of it.

The airlock door closed behind Zack and he trod water as he kept himself afloat, "Zack can you hear me?" Cloud asked through the headset.

"Yeah," Zack answered in a muffled voice.

"Good," Cloud replied, "the cave is southwest from your current position," Cloud informed Zack.

"Thanks for the info," Zack responded still in that muffled voice as he swam in the direction that Cloud told him to. "Why do I always get sent out to do these jobs?" Zack grumbled as he continued to swim rapidly. "I mean…do I have the word mug tattooed to my forehead or something…"

"Zack, you do know we can hear you right?" Cloud questioned through the headset.

"Errr…good…" Zack stammered, "I wanted you to hear me…wait…how can Tifa and Cid hear me as well?" He questioned.

"I have the communication on loud speaker," Cloud answered.

"Hi Zack," Tifa and Cid talked to Zack at the same time.

"Great…" Zack muttered as he carried on swimming, he eventually reached the entrance to a cave in the southwest area. "Is that the right cave?" Zack asked as he looked into the entrance.

Cloud looked at the radar and it blipped uncontrollably, "yeah," Cloud answered, "you're at the right cave."

"Good, for a second there I thought I had the wrong one," Zack spoke down the microphone and he swam into the cave, a red glow filled the entire area as something swam passed the cave. Meanwhile Zack swam through a narrow tunnel until he reached a circular cavern and he saw a strange object that was in the shape of a swirly shell. "This is a strange looking object…could this be the key?" He questioned half to himself.

"It could be…" Cloud stated, "The information says that it's over centuries old, that it was around since Ancient times so yeah, it could be the key. Bring it back to the sub."

"Right," Zack stated as he wrapped his tail round the object and pulled it out of the cave floor. He then swam out of the cave and made his way back to the submarine. Zack stopped when he felt a sudden wave of water as something swam passed him. "Huh…" Zack mumbled as he looked around but he saw nothing. "I thought there was something there…"

Zack continued swimming but he stopped again as he heard the sound of deep breathing behind him. Zack then slowly turned around to see a large green monster with a red jewel in the centre of it growling and glaring at him. "!" Zack's muffled yells could be heard by his friends as he swam as fast as he could.

"Zack! Are you ok?" Cloud asked through the headset concerned for his friend.

"Shit!" Was all Cloud could hear as Zack swam as fast as he could passed the submarine and he swam passed the Underwater Reactor with the giant monster in pursuit. (**A/N, the monster that is chasing after Zack is Emerald Weapon which you can see swimming about in the water as soon as you acquire the submarine.**) Zack swam into a large cave area with stalactites hanging from the ceiling, he continued to swim deep into the cave dodging the monster's attacks. The monster clawed at Zack with its mighty arms, Zack swam upwards and clung on to a stalactite, the monster's shoulder pads opened up to reveal four glowing gems, two blue and two yellow.

The gems fired beams of energy at the stalactite that Zack was holding on to, Zack yelled as he lifted his body up as the beam cut through three stalactites in a row including the one that Zack was clinging on to. Zack fell but he flipped under water as the monster clawed at him again. Zack swam further into the cave (still by some miracle holding on to the key) and the monster followed him as its gems continued to fire beams of energy at him but the drag human quickly dodged them. "Underwater combat really isn't my thing!" Zack yelled through his headset. "Guys…I seriously need back up!"

"You're in a cave Zack!" Cloud informed the drag human as he followed the blips on the radar. "The sub won't fit in."

"Cloud!" Zack screamed as he dodged another one of the monster's attacks. "If I ever get out of this alive I will personally make your life a living hell!"

"Sure you will Zack…" Cloud stated dismissively as he continued to watch the radar.

Zack continued to yell in panic as he swam further into the cave and he clawed at one of the stalactite as he swam passed, the stalactite fell to the cave floor with a smash just narrowly missing the monster. Zack looked down at the broken stalactite and smirked. "I think I have an idea…" He whispered slyly as he swam round the cave at top speed clawing at stalactites as he swam passed each one as the monster continued to attack him. However they all missed the monster, "damn this thing is smart…" Zack muttered but his head jerked up as the key snagged on a stalactite. "Shit!" Zack let out a muffled yell which was magnified through the headset. "Not now!"

"What's wrong?" Cloud asked his friend through the headset.

"The key…it snagged on something!" Zack yelled in a panicked tone as he struggled to free himself.

"Well get it out of there!" Cloud yelled to Zack. "That key is important!"

"I know!" Zack screamed in frustration, "but I'm currently being attacked by a monster that's hell bent on killing me! So a little sympathy and understanding wouldn't go amiss!"

"Just try to stay alive and keep that fuckin' key in tact would ya!" Cid cursed down the headset.

Zack growled as he tried in vain to free the key from the stalactite, he clawed at the jagged rock and pulled at his tail. Zack turned round for a split second and he saw the monster charging towards him at top speed, "!" He screamed in alarm as he clawed at the stalactite much more frantically as the monster got closer and closer to him.

With another muffled yell Zack managed to free himself and the key and he quickly swam out of the way as the stalactite fell from the ceiling. Zack closed his eyes as he heard the sound of the falling stalactite clash with something. Zack opened his eyes and he saw the monster right up close to him the stalactite had impaled itself into the monster's head. Zack carefully waved his hand in front of the monster's face, however the monster didn't respond and it didn't take Zack long to realise that it was dead. "Woooooooo…yeah!" Zack yelled as he did a victory flip in the water.

"Zack, are you ok?" Cloud asked his friend, his voice was filled with concern.

"Yeah," Zack answered as he looked down at the dead monster. "That son of a bitch is finally dead…a stalactite fell on its head…but that's not the point…the point is I kicked its sorry ass!"

"Technically the stalactite did," Tifa corrected Zack through the headset.

"But I caused the stalactite to fall…" Zack stated hiding his annoyance at Tifa's remark, "so technically it was…shut up!" Zack yelled finally letting his frustration out. "Stop ruining my moment!"

"Do you have the key?" Cloud cut in quickly changing the subject.

"Yeah," Zack answered as he looked back at the key which was still wrapped up in his tail and surprisingly sustained no damage. "This thing is pretty resilient," he remarked as he continued to look at it. "It's sustained no damage...anyway...I'm on my way back." Zack swam out of the cave and made his way back to the submarine.

Cloud, Tifa and Cid ran over to the airlock just as Zack entered it. "Glad to see that you're still alive," Cid stated as he smirked at Zack. "You've got guts facin' that thing."

"No thanks to you guys..." Zack muttered irritably as he wrung his tail out. "You guys didn't even give me any backup..."

"We couldn't get to you, you were in a cave," Cloud reminded Zack. "The sub wouldn't have fitted in."

"Look, the important thing is that you're alive and we have the key," Tifa quickly changed the subject and she smiled at Zack. "So we can go back to the others."

Cloud sat back in the driver's seat and he steered the submarine back to Junon, the group then got back in the Highwind and it soon landed outside the City of the Ancients and Cloud, Cid, Tifa and Zack (still in drag human form) made their way back to the shrine where their friends were. Bugen Hagen smiled when he saw them. "You found it!" He exclaimed as he limped over to the group.

"Yeah," Zack replied as he held the key out. "It wasn't easy, I was attacked by a damn monster."

"I'm so glad you're ok," Aerith uttered in a relieved tone as she ran up to Zack and hugged him. "I was so worried."

"You don't need to be," Zack reassured her as he hugged her back. "I'm as tough as a dragon...figuratively speaking..." he added as he looked down at himself. "Did you find anything else out?" He asked as he gave Aerith a hopeful look.

"Not really," Aerith answered as she shook her head. "We couldn't decipher the Ancient writing but we did find a strange looking object up there on the cliff," she explained as she pointed to the cliff. Everyone looked and they saw a strange object made out of stone and lined with blue crystals. There was a hole in the side of the box. "I think the key might fit in there," Aerith remarked as she pointed to the hole.

"Hang on," Zack replied as he released Aerith and he flew up to the object. He took a closer look at it, "so this is another creation of the Ancients...neat..." he commented before looking down at the key and he saw for the first time that it was in the shape of a winding shell. "Wow...this key is a strange shape but it sure is amazing though...those Ancients sure knew how to invent..."

"Just put the bloody key in the damn hole!" Cid yelled up to him.

"Alright!" Zack yelled back to the pilot. "Don't get your knickers in a twist!" Zack mocked before turning back to the stone pillar and putting the key into it and turning the key. Zack stared as the crystals vibrated and the stone pillar receded into the cliff side. The group then looked as water gushed from the top of the cliff and poured down the central altar. Zack pulled away from the vibrating crystals and flew back to the altar, he flew through the waterfall and landed next to Aerith as she along with the others watched in awe.

"What is this?" Aerith uttered as she stared at the water, "it's so beautiful."

"This is a screen to project an image," Bugen Hagen answered. "Now look at the image that will be projected on the water." The group looked up and an image of Aerith kneeling down at the altar in the Ancient City swam into view. The image of Aerith then looked up and smiled before an image of Zack appeared and pulled Aerith to safety before Sephiroth cut through Aerith's ribbon causing the White Materia to fall out of Aerith's hair and bounce off each pillar before it landed in the lake. The next image showed the White Materia at the bottom of the lake and it was glowing.

"It's glowing..." Aerith uttered.

"Ho, ho, ho! Bugen Hagen laughed cheerfully. "It's pale green."

"You did it Aerith!" Zack yelled happily as he lifted Aerith up and spun her round. "Your prayer reached the Planet!"

"I...I guess I did..." Aerith uttered modestly as Zack put her back down again.

"I screwed up, I handed the Black Materia to Sephiroth..." Cloud stated as he hung his head. "But you appeared in my dreams and told me that it wasn't too late. That you could stop Sephiroth, you knew about Holy and the truth behind the White Materia, you gave us hope Aerith." Cloud told the Cetra.

"Well yeah on a subconscious level," Aerith admitted. "Consciously I didn't know what I was doing until now, I didn't know I could appear in people's dreams."

"Maybe your Cetra powers kicked in because you sensed danger," Zack suggested.

"Maybe," Aerith stated she sighed before closing her eyes as she sensed something.

"What's wrong?" Tifa questioned as she gave her friend a confused stare.

Aerith opened her eyes and gave the group a worried glance, "I summoned Holy, but it's not moving..." Aerith told the group, "it's almost like Holy's stuck, like something's stopping it..."

"Sephiroth..." Cloud uttered as he paced round the altar, "it has to be, he's the only one with the power to stop it."

"So if we're to release Holy we have to defeat Sephiroth," Barret stated as he folded his arms.

"But weren't we gonna do that anyway?" Yuffie questioned as she looked at Barret.

"Yes," Vincent answered in his usual calm manner, "but we don't even know where he is."

"That barrier over Northern Cave is still there so we can only assume that Sephiroth is still underneath it," Red came to the reasonable conclusion.

Cait Sith suddenly bounded up to Cloud, "I know this is gonna sound strange, it was kind of strange to me when I found out..." he uttered in a panicked tone.

"What's wrong?" Cloud asked the cat.

"Remember how the giant cannon in Junon disappeared..." Cait Sith asked. '

"Yeah..." Zack answered, "what about the cannon?"

"Well it didn't disappear, Rufus moved it," Cait Sith answered as the group stared at the cat in shock.

"He moved it!" Cid yelled as he pushed his way through to Cait Sith, "what the hell would he want with that mother fuckin' cannon?"

"Rufus wants to destroy Sephiroth with it," Cait Sith started to explain to the group slightly annoyed that Cid would demand answers from him like that. "The cannon normally runs on Huge Materia but the Huge Materia was already used in the rocket plan, naturally because the cannon is useless right now he moved it. To a place where Materia...no Mako is gathered..."

"Where could that be?" Tifa questioned as the group began to think.

"Midgar," Cait Sith answered, "it just so happens that they're in the middle of a meeting about the matter." Cait Sith informed the group before he held up a transmitter.

Meanwhile in Midgar a helicopter flew through the darkened sky followed by two others and they flew right passed the Mako cannon and the Shinra building where Rufus and the other executives were having a meeting in the meeting room. "...That's why Reeve..." the president stated as he looked at the man in the blue suit before sighing. "It is your job to adjust the reactors' output."

"I see..." Reeve uttered nervously before turning away.

"Ha, ha, ha!" Scarlet laughed loudly before walking over to Reeve, "don't worry about adjusting it Reeve," the woman reassured him as she punched the air. "Once you open it up all the way everything will go full speed."

"Gya ha ha!" Heidegger laughed his usual stupid way before looking at Scarlet. "The president's sure done it this time! If we can only defeat Sephiroth the idea that Meteor would also disappear is based on different objectives."

Scarlet sighed before walking over to Rufus and waggling her finger at him, "please remember Mr President that it was my idea to fire Mako powered shells." Scarlet reminded Rufus of this fact.

Rufus looked up at Scarlet as he flipped a bit of his hair out of his face, "will the shells really reach the far northern border?" He questioned hopefully.

"Ah, ha, ha! Of course!" Scarlet yelled matter of factly before waggling her finger at Rufus again, "but please Mr President don't call it a Mako cannon, from now on this new weapon will be called...SISTER RAY!" Scarlet yelled dramatically as she swept her arm forwards as she and everyone else in the room except Reeve started laughing manically.

"Sister Ray..." Zack questioned as the transmission ended.

"It's an extremely powerful weapon," Cait Sith explained about Sister Ray. "But it will take a while to charge up, we may have time."

"Let's go," Cloud commanded before the group ran out from under the water and left the City of the Ancients they made their way back to the Highwind and boarded just as the ground started to shake. "What was that?" Cloud questioned as the ground shook even harder.

"Look over there!" Yuffie exclaimed as she pointed to the ocean. Everyone looked in the direction that Yuffie was pointing in and the water began to slowly ripple, faster and faster before the ripples turned into waves and a loud growl could be heard as a large bipedal monster clad in white armour rose out of the water. It roared loudly before it slowly lifted its giant foot and started to walk across the ocean.

Everyone ran to the bridge as alarms started to go off and red lights started flashing, "what's happenin'?" Cid demanded as he ran to the controls.

"I dunno!" One of the co-pilots yelled in a panic. "There's a strange signal and it's coming from him!" The pilot continued to yell as he pointed at Cait Sith.

"Wow!" Cait Sith shouted as he raised his paws before running wildly round the room.

Zack caught Cait Sith in mid run and placed him on his shoulder, "calm down," Zack told the cat before flexing his wings. "What is it?"

"Sorry about my moment of madness," Cait Sith apologised before bowing his head. "The controls just went crazy, this ain't good..." he uttered as he sighed sadly. "Weapon just came out of the sea and is heading towards Midgar!"

"But...the cannon will stop it...right?" Zack questioned hopefully.

Cait Sith shook his head, "I don't know if it's ready or not," he answered still a hint of sadness in his voice.

"What's gonna happen to Marlene?" Barret demanded as he gave Cait Sith a worried look.

"Don't worry, Marlene is safe," Cait Sith told Barret as he smiled at the man. "She's with Aerith's mama."

"Mother..." Aerith uttered as she closed her eyes, she felt awful about not giving Elmyra a second thought.

"I'm sure your mum's ok," Zack stated as he wrapped his arm round Aerith. "And Marlene too."

"I haven't thought about her since we left Midgar..." Aerith uttered guiltily.

"I'm sure she understands," Zack continued to reassure Aerith. "She knows that you have to help save the world."

"Yeah I know..." Aerith whispered as she smiled at Zack.

Barret meanwhile scratched his head before turning away from the group, "hey Barret!" Cait Sith called out to the man before leaping on to his shoulder. "What was that scratching for just now?" He questioned as he gave Barret a curious look. "I mean as long as Marlene's safe who cares what else happens right?" Barret sighed but he said nothing. "Look, I've been itchin' to say this for a while now..." Cait Sith continued before he waved his arms madly at Barret. "When ya blew the Number 1 Reactor in Midgar up, how many folks do ya think died?"

Barret sighed again before glaring at Cait Sith, "that was for the life of the planet..." Barret grumbled not taking his eyes off Cait Sith. "Ya gotta expect a few casualties!"

"A few..." Cait Sith repeated what Barret said as he scowled at him. "What do ya mean a few? What may be a few to y'all maybe everythin' to someone else." Barret grumbled to himself unintelligibly causing Cait Sith to become even angrier. "Protect the planet, ha!" Cait Sith continued mockingly causing Barret to scowl at him. "Ain't no one gonna hold it against ya, but that doesn't mean that ya can just do whatever you want."

"I don't wanna hear that from no one in Shinra!" Barret snapped at the cat taking him aback slightly.

"Well...nothin' I can do 'bout that..." Was all Cait Sith said before he shrugged.

"Stop it both of you!" Aerith snapped as she walked over to Barret and Cait Sith. "This isn't helping!"

"Aerith's right," Tifa agreed as she walked over to them. "I'm not condoning what we did Cait Sith," Tifa told the cat. "We'll never forget it and it's like you, you can't quit the company because you're worried about the people of Midgar, right?" She questioned as she continued to look at Cait Sith.

"Yeah..." Cait Sith answered.

Cloud thought for a moment before walking over to the group, "I'm not gonna sit around and wait for the cannon to fully charge." Cloud stated matter of factly, "We're gonna go to Midgar and we're gonna beat Weapon ourselves."

"Are you sure we can even beat that thing?" Yuffie questioned as she gave Cloud a sceptical stare. "I mean that's gotta be at least fifty tonnes of bio armour walking towards Midgar."

"You scared..." Vincent whispered in Yuffie's ear as he smirked at her.

"Hardly!" Yuffie yelled as she smirked back at Vincent, "I'll show you Mr gunslinger...and then maybe we can get a private kiss later..." Yuffie whispered the last part to Vincent causing him to stare at her in shock.

"Yuffie..." Vincent started to say.

"You know you want to..." Yuffie cut in enjoying the look of shock on Vincent's face.

"Stop it you two!" Cloud snapped at Vincent and Yuffie, "I don't know if we can beat it but that doesn't mean that we can't try, Cid, set a course for Midgar."

"Alright, ya suicidal manic!" Cid yelled before the Highwind took off and flew towards Midgar.

"Hey, we just passed Weapon," Yuffie stated as she looked out of the window to see the white monster as the Highwind flew passed.

"Hey, you weren't sick," Zack observed as he looked at Yuffie.

"Maybe it's because I'm psyching myself up for the fight with Weapon," Yuffie stated as she looked at the drag human.

"Yeah that could be it," Zack replied as he smiled at Yuffie. "It's helping to take your mind of your motion sickness."

"Yeah I guess it..." Yuffie started to say but she stopped as she got a weird feeling in her stomach. "I think I'm gonna hurl..." she muttered before running out of the room with her hand clamped over her mouth.

Aerith scowled at Zack, "what?" Zack asked as he gave Aerith an innocent look, his wings drooped slightly and he wrung his tail in his hands to make his expression look more convincing.

"Making Yuffie feel sick like that!" Aerith yelled at Zack as she continued to scowl at him.

"I only commented on the fact that she wasn't feeling sick," Zack explained as he continued to look innocent making his eyes bigger for extra effect. "It's not my fault she then focused on her motion sickness again..."

Aerith sighed as her scowl softened slightly, "alright...I believe you..." she gave in, Zack smirked before Aerith scowled at him again. "Stop pulling the innocent expression..." she warned him as she waved a threatening finger at him. "If I were you I'd transform into your human form..."

Zack's smile faded and he transformed into his human form before sighing to himself. "Happy now?" He questioned as he looked at Aerith.

"Very happy," Aerith answered before she turned round and walked off.

"Alright we're approachin' the coast near Midgar!" Cid yelled causing everyone to look at him. "I'm gonna land the Highwind just off the coast." Cid told the group as he steered the Highwind to the field area just beyond the beach, everyone ran on to the deck and climbed down the rope ladder. They ran to the beach and prepared their weapons.

"I guess now we have to wait huh?" Yuffie questioned as she looked at Vincent.

"Yes," Vincent answered without looking at the ninja. "Weapon isn't here yet."

"I wish it would hurry up…" Yuffie muttered as she paced round impatiently, "we're all gonna die of old age at this rate…"

"That's if Meteor doesn't kill us first…" Zack uttered as he readied his katana.

"It was an expression!" Yuffie yelled as she scowled at Zack.

"Look, Weapon's speeding up!" Aerith shouted as she pointed out to sea, everyone looked to where she was pointing and the group saw the giant white armoured monster getting closer and closer to the coast. After a few more minutes the group felt the ground shake as Weapon took its first steps on dry land.

"Well…I can safely say that I don't need the bathroom…" Yuffie uttered as everyone slowly stepped away from her.

"That's disgusting…" Vincent remarked as he looked away from Yuffie in disgust.

"Enough talk! Let's beat this giant mother fucker!" Cid yelled before he charged at Weapon thrusting his spear out at the side of him as he ran. The rest of the group followed suit and thus began a giant battle royale with the beast. Cloud and Zack both charged at Weapon at the same time, Cloud swung his sword behind him as he ran while Zack grasped tightly on to the handle of his katana. When they got closer to the monster they both leapt up into the air, Cloud swung his sword round and Zack quickly unsheathed his katana and they both slashed at the monster at the same time. However their attacks ricocheted off Weapon's armour causing them both to be thrown backwards and they both landed on the ground with a thud.

"Whoa!" Zack yelled as he and Cloud rolled out of the way just as Weapon lifted its foot up and was about to crush the two with it. Weapon's foot landed on the ground with a thud causing the ground to shake, the group quickly braced themselves and when the ground stopped shaking Aerith and Tifa ran over to the two men.

"Are you both ok?" Tifa questioned as she and Aerith helped them both up.

"Yeah," Cloud answered as he stared at Weapon. "Our attacks didn't even faze it…"

"That armour's just too thick to penetrate…" Zack added as he too looked at Weapon.

"Hmmm…" Aerith mused as she looked at Weapon which was now towering over them.

"What?" Tifa questioned as she looked at her friend.

Aerith didn't have much chance to answer as Weapon roared loudly before it breathed deeply, "it's gonna breathe somethin'!" Cloud yelled as he, Tifa, Aerith and the others leapt out of the way. Zack changed into his drag human form and faced Weapon just as a jet of white coloured flames shot out of its mouth, Zack also breathed deeply before spraying a powerful jet of water out of his mouth.

The two breaths clashed together and glowed brightly as the white flames and the blue water fought fiercely against each other. Everyone just stared as both monster and drag human stood opposite each other their breaths continuing to clash against each other, after a while Zack started to become exhausted. _"Must…hold on…" _Zack thought desperately to himself refusing to stop breathing water, Zack took in another deep breath before the water jet he was breathing out grew incredibly large and was able to over power Weapon's white fire. Weapon stared at the large jet of water rushing towards it and it was hit square in the chest, Weapon was thrown backwards from the blast and its white chest plate was cracked by the attack.

"Zack's water breath put a dent in Weapon's chest plate," Aerith uttered in surprise as Weapon writhed slightly from the shock. "Magic's the key!" She exclaimed as she looked excitedly at the others.

"Everyone grab some Materia quick!" Cloud ordered as Aerith took some Materia out of the pouch round her waist and she tossed the glowing orbs to the group. Everyone with the exception of Zack equipped their Materia just as Weapon came round. The group fired a whole arsenal of spells at Weapon, Vincent shot ice bullets at Weapon's arms freezing them while Yuffie and Tifa charged at Weapon, Weapon stomped the ground causing the ground to shake again but Yuffie and Tifa jumped before charging lightning in their weapons and they attacked Weapon's shoulders causing the armour to crackle. Weapon shook violently throwing Yuffie and Tifa off it, it cracked the ice on its arm and tried to grab them but Red cast a quake spell which caused Weapon to lose its balance slightly.

Weapon turned its attention to Cid and started to breathe its white coloured fire at him, however Cid quickly cast a reflect spell causing the flames to bounce back and hit Weapon. Weapon roared in pain before glaring at the group, Barret held out a piece of red Materia and he began to glow before a protective barrier formed round him and his friends.

The red Materia glowed and a form flew out of it, the form was a six winged silver dragon, it roared loudly and looked at Diamond Weapon before it flew upwards not stopping until it had left the Planet's atmosphere. The dragon flew once round the Planet before stretching all six of its wings out wide, the dragon opened its mouth wide and a ball of energy formed inside its mouth before a beam was fired down to the Planet. The beam rapidly descended until it reached Weapon and the beam exploded up on impact, however the group were protected by the barrier.

Once the explosion had cleared and the barrier round the group had disappeared they saw much to their surprise that Weapon was still alive but most of its armour was damaged. "COME ON!" Zack yelled as he stared at the monster in shock, "THAT SHOULD'VE KILLED IT!"

Weapon roared again before its chest plate opened up to reveal a glowing red core, a bright light swirled round it. "It's using its main weapon!" Cloud warned the others as the group started to back away from the monster, the light round Weapon's core swirled faster and faster before a large beam was fired at full speed. However when the beam reached the group it was met by a large golden coloured barrier which diffused most of the attack. Aerith was stood at the edge of the barrier with her arms thrust out, she looked at the monster and smirked before the barrier disappeared.

"Thanks Aerith," Zack thanked the Cetra as he smiled at her.

"Don't mention it," Aerith replied as she looked back at her friends. Weapon however soon became bored with the group and started to turn its attention else where.

"Weapon's leaving…" Tifa uttered as Weapon stepped over the group and made its way back to the ocean.

"Maybe it's giving up," Zack stated as he reverted to his human form.

"No…that's not it…" Aerith answered in a worried tone as she closed her eyes and clasped her hands together. "It senses something…it senses murder…"

"Are you sure?" Cloud questioned as he gave Aerith a worried look.

"Yes," Aerith replied as she opened her eyes and looked at the group. "Weapon was created by the Planet to protect it…but it can't get to the main danger…"

"I think it would be wise to get back to the Highwind…" Cait Sith stated in a worried tone, "somethin' big…I mean REALLY big is comin'!"

"Y'all heard the stuffed cat!" Cid yelled to the group, "let's get the hell outta here!" The group ran back to the Highwind and the Highwind took to the air.

Meanwhile in Midgar Rufus was stood behind his desk looking out of the window towards the ocean, "Gya haa haa!" Heidegger's laugh echoed through the intercom on Rufus' desk. "Mr President, preparations for Sister Ray are now complete!"

"Kya haa haa!" Scarlet's laughter was added as Rufus looked down at his desk. "Any time is fine!"

Rufus nodded, "Fire!" Rufus ordered down the intercom as he looked back out the window again. As Rufus said this all of the reactors became active at the same time and green Mako energy flowed through the conduits connected to the cannon, the energy flowed into the back of the cannon. The Mako energy built up and light formed at the barrel of the cannon as it was preparing to fire, the light disappeared into the barrel as the energy inside the cannon was compressed and the scenery around the cannon became dark. After a moment of silence the cannon fired and a beam of white light shot out of the cannon at lightning speed, the sheer power of the blast was enough to cause the support beams to collapse and all the windows on the Shinra building to shatter and break. Rufus looked out of the now shattered windows and smirked as he flipped his hair back.

Weapon stopped at the beach and turned round, the damaged armoured plates opened up to reveal many orifices in its skin. Weapon focused its energy and yellow beams of light shot out of the orifices and flew towards Midgar. The group meanwhile were on the deck of the Highwind watching the whole thing, "It's fighting back…" Aerith uttered as the group watched the yellow beams fly by.

"MARLENE!" Barret yelled desperately as he ran to the edge of the deck.

The rest of the group ran to the railings and watched as the beams from Weapon and the beam from the Sister Ray collided with each other. The beam from the cannon collided with Weapon and went right through it piercing its armour, skin and internal organs. Weapon was sent flying backwards from the impact and it crashed into the ground causing it to shake as it slid along the beach and stopped just as it reached the ocean. Weapon lay there on the ground mortally wounded its insides exposed, the monster roared and writhed in pain before it became still.

The group stared at the dead Weapon in shock, "ok…" Yuffie uttered her eyes wide open. "It took all of our spells combined to slightly damage its armour and that beam just went straight through it…HOW?"

"Maybe Weapon isn't the target," Vincent stated calmly as he folded his arms.

"I get it…" Cloud replied as he looked at the rest of the group. "They're after Sephiroth at the Northern Cave."

The energy beam carried on going not once losing speed, it eventually reached the Northern Cave and collided with the barrier completely destroying it leaving the entrance to the Northern Cave wide open. Meanwhile Rufus was still in his office, he hadn't moved an inch since the cannon was fired. "Sir!" A man's voice spoke through the intercom, "Weapon has been defeated and the barrier has disappeared." At hearing these words Rufus walked over to his desk and he looked up at the ceiling. "Sir! A mass of high density energy is heading towards Midgar!" The same man's voice yelled down the intercom.

The citizens of Midgar looked up as the yellow beams from Weapon flew over Midgar, "It's Weapon! Run for your lives!" One of the citizens screamed as they all ran away in panic. The yellow beams struck several places in the city before they flew passed the Shinra building, Rufus watched the whole scene from behind his desk, Rufus blinked for a second before one of the beams crashed into his office. Rufus doubled over as the entire office exploded.

Back on the Highwind everyone looked towards the Northern Cave, "I wonder what happened to Sephiroth…" Cloud mused as he rubbed his chin.

"We should go to the Northern Cave," Aerith suggested as she looked at the group. The Highwind made its way to the Northern Cave and the group saw to their surprise that the barrier had gone.

"Looks like the Sister Ray was powerful enough to destroy the barrier after all," Zack remarked as he smirked. "I guess this means we're going in."

"Yeah," Cloud agreed as he nodded. "Cid, can the Highwind fit down there?" Cloud asked as he looked at the pilot.

"Of course," Cid answered as he smiled. "The Highwind can get any where."

"Good," Cloud replied, "let's…"

"No! Not yet!" Cait Sith interrupted Cloud causing the group to stare at him.

"What the hell is it Cait Sith?" Barret demanded.

"Scarlet! Heidegger!" Cait Sith yelled down a mobile phone, "What's goin' on?"

Meanwhile Scarlet, Heidegger and Reeve were stood in the meeting room. Heidegger was on a phone while Scarlet and Reeve looked at him. After a while Heidegger slammed the phone down, "I can't reach the President!" He yelled in frustration as he slammed his fists on the table.

"No, not the President, to Sister Ray!" Reeve yelled desperately.

"Kya haa haa!" Scarlet laughed loudly as she stared at Reeve. "What's the matter Reeve? You're speaking strangely."

Reeve sighed before shaking his head, "None of it matters!" He yelled as he looked desperately at Scarlet and Heidegger. "The reactors' output is increasing on its own!"

Scarlet's smile soon faded, "W…wait a minute…that's not good…" She stated in a worried tone. "That's not wise, it must be cool for three hours or it won't work! Reeve, shut off the machine!" Scarlet ordered.

"We can't do that! It's inoperable!" Reeve yelled desperately as he ran his hand through his hair. He then pulled a mobile phone out of his pocket, he dialled a number and held it to his ear. "Someone has switched the machine over to mainframe operations," Reeve explained as the mobile phone rang. "We can't operate it from here." Reeve thought for a moment, "what about the mainframe?" Reeve questioned before looking at Heidegger. "Hey! Call the mainframe!" Reeve ordered causing the other man to scowl at him.

"Why are you giving the orders?" Heidegger demanded still not taking his eyes off Reeve.

"Just do it!" Reeve yelled at the man before turning away and listening to his phone again.

Hojo was sat at the top of a large metal tower, electricity sparked along the metal walk way and Hojo was busy pushing buttons on a large control panel. "Ha, ha, ha, just you wait Sephiroth…" Hojo muttered to himself as he worked. "I'll give you all the Mako you want."

"Hojo stop!" Reeve's desperate voice yelled through an intercom on the control panel. "The cannon, no! Midgar itself is in danger!"

"Ha, ha, ha!" Hojo laughed manically as he continued typing away on the control panel completely ignoring Reeve. "One or two Midgars…it's a small price to pay."

"Hojo…HOJO!" Reeve screamed down the intercom before Hojo switched it off.

Hojo continued to work away pushing buttons and pulling levers, "Show me…Sephiroth…it should be near…ha, ha, ha!" Hojo muttered then laughed insanely as he continued to work. "Go beyond the power of science…before your presence…science is useless…" Hojo went on with himself, "I hate it…but I'll concede to it…just let me see it…ha, ha, ha!"

Back on the Highwind everyone was staring at Cait Sith as he jumped up and down in panic. "Yo! Do somethin' ya bastard Shinra cat!" Barret demanded as he shook his fist at Cait Sith.

Cait Sith sighed sadly before leaping on to Barret's shoulder before hanging his head, "we're sunk…" he stated sadly. "Hojo's doin' this on his own…huh…uhhh…" Cait Sith made strange noises as static emitted from Cait Sith. "I don't like this…" A deeper voice spoke causing everyone to jump in shock, Cait Sith was accidentally thrown off Barret's shoulder and he landed on the floor dazed for a moment.

"Reeve…" Cloud questioned as he and the rest of the group walked over to the cat. Cait Sith came to his senses and leapt to his feet. "Is that you?"

"Yes…" Reeve spoke through Cait Sith, "I'm sorry for everything I put you all through. Especially you Zack and Aerith…" Reeve apologised as Cait Sith turned round to look at the two. "I put you both in a very difficult position, but you didn't tell everyone else who I really am and for that, I'm grateful."

"You two knew…" Barret questioned as he scowled at Zack and Aerith.

"Believe me we didn't want to know," Zack replied in a defensive tone. "But me and Aerith didn't exactly have a choice in the matter."

"That's not important right now…" Cloud cut in quickly changing the subject and picking Cait Sith up. "Reeve, can you stop the reactors?"

Cait Sith hung his head as Reeve sighed, "…we can't stop it…" he stated sadly.

"But you're a Shinra exec…" Zack reminded Reeve, "surely you can do something…"

"I wish I could Zack," Reeve answered as Cait Sith focused on the black haired man. "But…if we try to shut down the reactors there's no telling what would happen."

"But you must do something…" Aerith pleaded with Reeve, "if there's a shred of human decency inside you, you'll find a way to help save the Planet…"

Cait Sith turned his attention to Aerith, "your words have really touched me Aerith…you're right…if I did care which I do I will find a way to save the Planet…"

"Can't ya just shut off the valve?" Cid suggested as he looked at Cait Sith.

"Hmmm…that could work," Reeve stated as Cait Sith nodded in agreement. "It is easy to shut off the reactors' pipe valves…but the reactor made a path for the energy to escape from below…" Reeve explained. "Once you open it will be impossible to close it until everything blasts out…and we can't stop the energy from gushing out…"

"Ya mean there's gonna be an explosion?" Barret demanded as he stared at Cait Sith in shock.

"The blast will be much stronger than at the number 1 Reactor," Reeve told the group.

"Damn it!" Barret yelled as he kicked the wall.

"Look…just forget about that…the cannon…you must get to it," Reeve instructed the group with the utmost urgency.

"Yeah…we gotta stop the psycho scientist first," Cloud stated before Zack smirked.

"Suits me…" Zack agreed whole heartedly with Reeve and Cloud. "I've been waiting for this moment…"

Meanwhile Reeve was stood in the meeting room in the Shinra building with his finger in his ear. "It looks like Cloud and the others are on their way," Reeve informed Heidegger and Scarlet.

"Gya haa haa!" Heidegger laughed loudly as he looked at Reeve. "That's ludicrous! I don't recall you giving me any orders!" Heidegger yelled at Reeve. "The peace reservation will do their best to make the enemy retreat!" Heidegger told Reeve.

"Kya haa haa!" Scarlet laughed evilly, "oh Heidegger…I shall use my secret weapon to dispose of them!" Scarlet yelled triumphantly. "As for you Reeve, you're no longer needed…" As Scarlet said this several guards entered the room and surrounded Reeve.

"Hey wait!" Reeve yelled but Scarlet and Heidegger left the room laughing as they went. Reeve hung his head, "everyone…I'm sorry…" Reeve apologised to the group through the earpiece.

Back on the Highwind static erupted from Cait Sith, "but you guys will come right…" Cait Sith spoke again.

Cloud thought for a moment before sighing, "it's your call kid," Cid told Cloud.

Cloud looked at Cid and smiled before nodding, "Let's head for Midgar," Cloud told the group as he walked over to the window.

"You got it," Cid stated before turning to his crew. "Y'all heard the man!" He yelled at them, "let's get to Midgar!" The crew saluted before they worked away on the controls and the Highwind quickly made its way to Midgar.

After a while the Highwind was hovering above Midgar and the group looked out of the window. "We've reached Midgar," one of the crew members informed the group.

"This won't be easy," Zack remarked as he folded his arms. "Even if we still manage to get down there the security's gonna be tight, we can't just slip into the slums."

"Not to mention that all transportation from the slums is cut off," Tifa added as she gave the group a worried look.

"Hey, what are y'all lookin' so glum for?" Cid questioned as he looked at his friends. "What do ya think we have the Highwind for? Where do ya think we are now?"

"In the sky," Aerith answered as she looked at Cid.

"Exactly," Cid replied as he smirked at the group. "If the ground is a no go…we'll go by air."

"We can get there by a parachuting down…Cid you're a genius!" Cloud yelled as he smirked at the pilot.

"Well I try…" Cid replied modestly, "the parachutes are in the cupboard over there," Cid informed his friends as he pointed to a cupboard near the rear of the room.

The group walked over to the cupboard and opened it, "wait…" Aerith stated as she counted the number of parachutes in the cupboard. "There's ten of us but there's only eight parachutes."

"It's ok, I don't need one," Zack told the group as they all turned round to look at him.

"You're gonna freefall…" Cloud asked as he gave Zack a weird look.

"Yep," Zack answered as he smirked.

"You're crazy…" Cid commented as he stared at Zack in surprise before smirking. "I'm startin' to like ya even more…"

"Zack…I don't think you should do that…" Aerith uttered in concern as she grabbed hold of Zack's arm.

"Relax," Zack reassured Aerith as he stroked the side of her face. "I'll be fine…besides I have a trick up my sleeve."

"What about Cait Sith?" Yuffie asked as she looked at the robotic cat.

"He can come with me," Cloud offered as he picked Cait Sith up and let him grip his shirt on his side. "Let's go." Everyone except Zack and Cait Sith who was currently on Cloud's side picked up a parachute and made their way to the deck. They all put the parachutes on their backs and one by one they jumped off the Highwind.

The group fell from the Highwind and made their descent to Midgar, Zack closed his eyes while in midair and focused as his skin turned purple, his wings arched out of his back and his tail whipped out behind him. Zack opened his eyes and he saw everyone else right below him. As soon as the group reached a certain point they opened their parachutes while Zack opened his wings. Zack along with Vincent and Aerith landed softly on the ground in the sector five slums. "Where are the others?" Aerith questioned as she looked around her.

"Maybe they landed somewhere else," Zack answered as he reverted to his human form.

"In that case we must make our way to the cannon," Vincent told the two as he removed his parachute and walked a couple of steps forward. "Hopefully we'll meet up with the others."

"Yeah," Zack replied as he nodded in agreement. "Our main priority is to stop Hojo."

Aerith removed her parachute and she, Zack and Vincent ran through sector five. They ran through the slums and entered the passage way which took them to sector six. They saw that the debris from the destruction of sector seven was still there. "You'd think that they'd have cleaned this place up," Aerith remarked as she looked around the park.

"It was low on their list of priorities," Zack responded as he sighed to himself.

The group carried on going but as they reached the other side of the park Zack stopped as he suddenly sensed something. "What is it?" Vincent questioned as he stared at his friend.

"Sssshhhhh…" Zack told Vincent as he placed his finger on his lips. "This is way too easy…there's gotta be a catch…" Zack whispered as he clasped the handle of his katana, he quickly pulled his katana out and swung it just in time as it clashed against another sword.

"That's as far as you go!" A voice that sounded familiar to Zack yelled, Zack slowly looked up at the sword's wielder and he saw a man with short brown hair, matching brown eyes and wearing a black SOLDIER uniform, evidence that he was a 1st class SOLDIER.

"Kunsel…" Zack uttered as he stared at his old friend in shock. (**A/N, I have no idea what Kunsel looks like under the helmet so I decided to use my imagination a bit here.**)

Kunsel also stared at Zack in shock, "Zack…" the young man questioned as he took a closer look at his old friend. "Is that really you?"

"Yeah," Zack answered as he nodded.

Kunsel lowered his sword slightly, "You look different…" he commented as he pointed at Zack's yellow eyes and his rough round the edges appearance.

"I feel different…" Was all Zack said as he slightly lowered his katana.

"What happened to you?" Kunsel asked, his voice was filled with concern as he took a step closer to Zack. "You look all rugged and serious and your eyes…" Kunsel paused as he took another look at Zack's eyes, "they're so feral and animal like…"

"I was experimented on," Zack answered as he told Kunsel the truth about his employers.

"Wait…the Nibelheim incident…" Kunsel uttered not taking his eyes off Zack. "You were one of the victims…"

"Me and a friend of mine," Zack told Kunsel. "We were witnesses to Sephiroth's descent into madness and we were captured and experimented on…"

"I heard rumours that you were dead…" Kunsel stated sadly, "I sent emails to your handset but you didn't respond…"

"If I did respond to your messages, the Shinra would've been able to track my location," Zack explained to Kunsel. "Besides…they caught up with me in the end…"

"Back at HQ there was a major panic because a dangerous experiment escaped…" Kunsel informed Zack.

"Well…I'm only dangerous to my enemies," Zack stated as he smirked at Kunsel.

"What do you mean?" Kunsel questioned confused at Zack's sudden seriousness. Zack sighed before sheathing his katana and transforming into his drag human form causing Kunsel to leap back in shock. "Y…you're the experiment…" Kunsel stammered.

"Yeah," Zack answered as he took a few steps closer to Kunsel, Kunsel stared at the fangs poking out of Zack's mouth and the spear at the end of Zack's tail clicking menacingly. "This is what Hojo did to me after I was recaptured…"

"Zack…if I'd have known that the experiment was you…I…I would've helped you." Kunsel told Zack.

"Would you…" Zack questioned as he gave Kunsel a sceptical stare.

"Of course," Kunsel answered matter of factly as he smiled at Zack. "We're friends, we're on the same team."

"No we're not…" Zack replied as he shook his head sadly, "we stopped being on the same team when I discovered what Shinra was hiding…"

"Look…what happened at Nibelheim was an accident," Kunsel responded obviously in denial.

"You weren't there Kunsel!" Zack suddenly snapped at the 1st class SOLDIER causing Kunsel, Aerith and Vincent to stare at the drag human in shock. "You didn't see all the dark, twisted secrets that I saw…you weren't the one on the run constantly looking over your shoulder…you weren't gunned down about five miles away from Midgar…away from the love of your life…" Zack continued as he took one look at Aerith, he then looked back at Kunsel. "I was experimented on…I mutated…and I have to live with this for the rest of my life…the Shinra used me and tossed me aside when I was no longer needed and they'll do the same to you too."

"Those two people that are with you, they're with Avalanche aren't they?" Kunsel asked as he pointed at Aerith and Vincent.

"Yeah," Zack answered as he snarled at Kunsel, "and so am I."

"In that case I can't let you go any further…" Kunsel stated as he pointed his sword at Zack again.

"I don't want to fight you Kunsel," Zack told his former friend. "We don't have to be enemies."

"We're on different sides like you said," Kunsel told Zack. "That makes us enemies."

Zack sighed, "fine…have it your way," Zack responded, Aerith and Vincent ran to Zack's side and were about to take their weapons out when Zack stopped them. "No, this is my fight, you guys go on ahead." Zack told his friends without looking at them.

"Zack…" Aerith started to protest.

"He's right," Vincent told Aerith agreeing with the drag human. "This is something he has to do alone."

"Are you sure you'll be ok?" Aerith questioned as she gave Zack a concerned stare.

"Yeah," Zack answered still not looking at Aerith. "I'll be fine, you go with Vincent, get to the cannon, I'll catch up with you."

Aerith wanted to protest more but she eventually gave in and her and Vincent ran through the park and continued on their way to the cannon. Zack continued to glare at Kunsel, however the SOLDIER while shocked at Zack's sudden change of appearance wasn't prepared to back down. With a yell he charged at Zack dragging his sword behind him, as Kunsel reached Zack he swung his sword forwards but Zack quickly whipped his tail round and opened the spear causing the sword's blade to get trapped in the spear end of Zack's tail. "What the…" Kunsel uttered as he stared at Zack in shock.

"I've had a lot of training," Zack answered as Kunsel struggled to get his sword free. "And it's no use struggling, I have a very good grip." Zack told Kunsel as he smirked, he then pulled his fist back and thrust it forward punching Kunsel causing the SOLDIER to flinch in shock. Zack then pulled his tail suddenly yanking the sword out of Kunsel's hands, Zack then threw the sword backwards causing the sword to get stuck in the debris wall.

"It's a good thing I'm trained in unarmed combat," Kunsel stated as he roundhouse kicked Zack in the face. Zack flinched but he managed to quickly balance himself before he performed an uppercut on Kunsel knocking him into the air. Zack then quickly leapt up and performed a somersault on Kunsel planting both his feet into the SOLDIER'S chest.

Kunsel grabbed Zack by the tail causing the drag human to grunt in pain, Kunsel swung Zack round in a circle and threw him into the Moogle slide. Zack crashed into the Moogle slide completely destroying it as Kunsel landed safely on his feet. Zack burst out of the debris and ran straight a Kunsel, his claws were fully out now. An armlet round Kunsel's wrist glowed and Kunsel shot a fire spell at Zack. Zack quickly dodged it and slashed at Kunsel across the face creating a large scratch down his cheek.

Zack then lunged at Kunsel and threw Kunsel to the ground, the two rolled around until they crashed into the debris that was all that remained of sector seven. Kunsel's sword vibrated before it fell out of the debris and landed on the ground a few inches away from Kunsel's head, Kunsel lay back in relief before he looked up and saw Zack on top of him growling.

"Are you going to kill me…" Kunsel questioned as he breathed heavily.

Zack growled for another moment before getting off Kunsel, "no," Zack answered as he stepped away from Kunsel. "I don't have a problem with you, it's the Shinra I have a problem with."

"If it's any consolation I didn't want to fight you," Kunsel admitted as he slowly staggered to his feet. "I was ordered to…you know what it's like…you were in SOLDIER."

"Yeah, but I managed to snap myself out of that way of thinking," Zack told Kunsel.

"Everything's just chaos," Kunsel informed Zack as he walked over to the drag human. "Rufus is dead, the Turks have gone AWOL and Heidegger and Scarlet have made themselves leaders of Shinra."

"Kunsel, I need you to get out of here," Zack told his old friend. "Me and my friends need to get to the cannon to stop Hojo before he causes any more harm."

"I can't leave," Kunsel stated as he shook his head sadly. "My orders were to find and destroy Avalanche."

"You need to start thinking for yourself!" Zack snapped at Kunsel, "take a good look at the sky, that's a crisis, and what Hojo is doing is also a crisis because if we don't stop him, he'll destroy Midgar."

Kunsel looked up and saw Meteor looming over them, "ok, you made your point," Kunsel replied as he looked back at Zack. "I'll leave Midgar," Kunsel gave in as he walked passed Zack. "Listen, all the access to the cannon is in sector eight, the quickest way to get there from here is through the ruins of sector seven."

"Thanks," Zack replied gratefully as he nodded at Kunsel.

"Just try not to get killed," was all Kunsel said before he walked off.

Zack quickly ran through the park to the Wall Market where he saw Vincent and Aerith, "that was fast," Vincent stated as he smiled at Zack.

"He was only following orders so I let him go," Zack told the two. "You do know you guys are going the long way right?" Zack questioned as he stared at his friends.

"What do you mean?" Aerith questioned as she gave Zack a confused stare.

"Kunsel told me that all access to the cannon was in sector eight and we're currently in sector six," Zack explained. "He said the quickest way to get to sector eight is through the ruins of sector seven."

"But…that would take even longer…" Aerith protested as she continued to stare at Zack, "and time is already running out."

"You're forgetting that I can fly," Zack reminded Aerith as he opened his wings and flapped them, he hovered in the air for a second before he flew over to Aerith and picked her up.

"Zack! Put me down!" Aerith screamed as she struggled against Zack's grip, Zack merely laughed as he took off while carrying Aerith in his arms. Vincent shook his head at Aerith's screams before he transformed into a grey skinned gargoyle like creature, his eyes became yellow and his hair became spiky and tinged with red as it stuck out of the red cloth on his head. He still had the golden claw gauntlet on his arm and he still wore his trousers and gold plated boots. A blue aura glowed out of the right side of his chest. (**A/N, the creature that Vincent turned into is called Chaos but it is the Dirge of Cerberus version.**) Vincent opened his large wings and took off after Zack, Zack and Vincent flew over the ruins of sector seven, Aerith's heart sank when she saw a demolished sign that read 'Tifa's Seventh Heaven'. "Tifa put her heart and soul into that place and the Shinra destroyed it…" She stated sadly as she felt a tear roll down her cheek.

"What's done is done…" Zack told Aerith as he looked down at her while flapping his wings. "We can't change the past but we can do whatever it takes to save the future and that's what we're gonna do."

"Zack's right…" Vincent agreed with the drag human as he flew along side him. "We have to stop Hojo before he can cause any more damage."

"We've almost reached the divide between sectors seven and eight," Zack told his friends as he pointed to the wall that divided the two sectors. After a couple more minutes Zack (who was carrying Aerith) and Vincent flew over the wall and found themselves flying over the train station.

"There's the cannon!" Aerith yelled as she pointed to a long, twisting steel staircase.

"Well we can easily bypass the steps," Zack stated as he and Vincent flapped their wings simultaneously to increase their altitude. They flew higher and higher until they reached the top of the cannon and landed on it, Vincent reverted to his original form and Zack lowered Aerith to the ground before landing himself, however he didn't change to his human form.

The three ran to the other side of the cannon where they saw Hojo working away on a control panel. "Hojo…what the hell are you doing?" Zack yelled at the scientist.

Hojo however wasn't fazed by Zack's raised voice and continued with his work, "well if it isn't the Project D prototype," Hojo stated calmly.

"I have a name!" Zack snapped at Hojo, "it's Zack, try to remember that…"

Hojo turned round to look at the group, "I've experimented on you twice I believe, the first time you were a complete failure but the second time…well I only need to look at you to see that it was successful…the ultimate soldier…"

"Yeah…but I still have my free will…" Zack told Hojo.

"That can be rectified…"Hojo stated with a smirk.

"Touch me again and I'll kill you…" Zack hissed menacingly.

"Stop this madness Hojo!" Vincent yelled as he removed his gun from its holster.

"Madness…" Hojo uttered as he repeated Vincent's words before laughing. "Oh…you mean this…" he continued as he pointed to the control panel. "It would seem that Sephiroth is relying on the energy, so I'm lending him a hand…" Hojo explained as he returned to typing on the panel, he looked at a computer screen next to him. "Energy level is at 83%...it's taking too long…" Hojo uttered impatiently as he banging his fist on the control panel.

"Why are you doing this?" Aerith demanded as she scowled at the scientist.

"And the Cetra…you'd have made a fine experiment…you and your mutant boyfriend…" Hojo continued in that insane manner. "If you hadn't have escaped I would've been able to create a soldier with dragon and Cetra powers…"

"Good thing we did escape then…" Zack stated not hiding the relief in his voice, "we managed to save ourselves and our future children from your clutches…"

"Just answer Aerith's question…" Vincent hissed as he pointed his gun at Hojo. "Why are you doing this?"

"My son is in need of power and help…" Hojo answered as he continued to work away. "That is why I'm doing this."

Vincent, Zack and Aerith stared at Hojo in shock, "y…your…son…" Aerith stammered as she stepped back in shock.

"Ha, ha, ha!" Hojo laughed manically, "of course he doesn't know that…" Hojo replied as he continued to laugh, as he laughed he stopped working for a moment and turned to look at the three. "Ha, ha, ha! What will Sephiroth think when he finds out that I'm his father? Always looking down at me, ha, ha, ha!"

"Sephiroth is your son…" Zack uttered as he glared at Hojo his tail standing up on end. "No wonder he went nuts…look at what he has as a father…"

"Ha, ha, ha!" Hojo continued to laugh manically, "I offered the woman with my child to professor Gast's Jenova Project…" Hojo explained dismissively. "When Sephiroth was still in the woman's womb, we took the cells of Jenova! Ha, ha, ha!"

This revelation was too much for Vincent to bare, he held his head as images of his past flashed before his eyes. He could hear a woman's pained screams followed by gunshots and manic laughter, "Vincent…" Aerith uttered snapping Vincent out of it.

"Are you ok?" Zack asked his voice was filled with concern.

Vincent's body shook violently before he stomped over to Hojo and pointed his gun at Hojo's head, the barrel of the gun pressed against Hojo's temple. "You used Lucrecia for your own selfish purposes!" Vincent yelled at Hojo, his body still shaking.

"Used her…ha!" Hojo laughed in Vincent's face unfazed at the fact that the dark man was pointing a gun at him. "Lucrecia was a willing participant, she knew the risks."

"I loved her!" Vincent yelled again as he pressed the gun harder against Hojo's temple. "You knew I loved her and you still involved her in your twisted games…"

"Vincent…what are you talking about?" Zack asked as he gave his friend a confused look.

"Zack, Aerith…" Vincent uttered as he looked at the two, his eyes held a hint of sadness in them. "My sin was letting Hojo use the woman I loved," Vincent revealed to his friends. "Hojo impregnated Lucrecia and exposed her and the unborn baby to Mako and Jenova cells, that baby was Sephiroth and when Sephiroth was born Lucrecia became sick. But Hojo didn't care, he got what he wanted, a child with the power of Jenova…he left Lucrecia to die…and I couldn't stop him…" Vincent admitted as he closed his eyes, "but this time I won't make the same mistake…" He promised as he opened his eyes and turned back to look at Hojo.

Zack walked over to Vincent, "Hojo hurt me a lot, it's because of him that I'm not a normal human…" Zack stated as he glared at Hojo. "I've waited a long time for this moment…"

Hojo merely laughed at the two, "you both couldn't be more wrong…" he uttered as he pushed Vincent's gun away from him. "Hee, hee, hee…it's my desire as a scientist to experiment to see what works…" Hojo explained, "yes…perhaps it will…"

"You've really lost it…" Zack uttered as he and Vincent stepped back while giving Hojo repulsive stares. Hojo merely laughed again before taking a needle out of his pocket with a strange green coloured liquid which Zack instantly recognised. "That liquid…" he uttered as he remembered being injected with the same stuff. "It's the same stuff he injected me with…dragon cells fused with Jenova cells."

"Exactly…" Hojo stated before stabbing the needle into his arm and pressing down on the plunger, after a few seconds the needle's contents were emptied and Hojo removed the needle before throwing it to the ground. "Yes…I'm sure we'll have spectacular results!" Hojo yelled before he doubled over holding his stomach, Vincent, Aerith and Zack stepped back as they stared at Hojo. Hojo let out a scream followed by a growl as his skin changed to dark blue and his muscle mass increased ripping his lab coat, his hair changed from greying black to silver and two large black horns protruded from his head. Hojo yelled again as two wings burst out of his back and a tail arched out of his rear end and whipped round. Hojo lifted his head up and opened his eyes to reveal that they were blood red.

"He…mutated…" Aerith uttered as she stared at the monstrosity in shock.

Hojo smirked evilly revealing several sharp fangs, he roared loudly as he swept his mighty arm and ripped a metal rod off the railings. Hojo roared again before he easily tossed it aside, "so this is the power of a dragon and Jenova combined!" Hojo yelled in a deeper voice as he looked down at himself. "This is a spectacular result indeed! And I shall prove that this experiment was successful once and for all by defeating you three!" Hojo yelled as he looked up at Zack, Vincent and Aerith. Hojo roared loudly again and flexed his fingers as long black claws sprung out of them and he flexed his muscles as black elbow claws emerged out of Hojo's elbows and the spike on his tail clicked menacingly. Zack, Vincent and Aerith got into fighting stances as Hojo charged at them with his claws outstretched.

Meanwhile Cloud and the others emerged out of the underground tunnels and arrived in sector eight. "We finally made it," Tifa stated before the ground began to shake. "It can't be…" Tifa uttered as she almost lost her balance but Cloud caught her just in time as a giant robot stomped towards the group.

The robot stopped in front of the group and a compartment opened on its chest, the robot reached its hand up to the opening. "Ha, ha, ha, ha!" Evil laughter could be heard, "here they come!" A male voice yelled as Heidegger stepped on to the giant hand.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha! So they really showed up!" A female voice shouted as Scarlet stepped on to the giant hand next to Heidegger and the robot swung its arm out so the group could clearly see the two executives.

"You sure did treat us like dogs up to now!" Heidegger yelled at the group.

"You all killed a lot of my precious soldiers!" Scarlet added as she glared at the group.

"Not that it was much of a challenge!" Cloud yelled up at the two executives as he removed his sword from his back, the rest of the group also withdrew their weapons.

"Shut up!" Scarlet snapped at Cloud as she scowled at him, "you lot are worthless, but my proud creation is a sure thing!" Scarlet shouted to the group as she gestured at the robot, the robot put Scarlet and Heidegger back into the cockpit before the door closed. The robot then punched the ground with its giant fist causing the ground to shake again, "I'll show you the destructive power of Proud Clod!" The group got into fighting stances as two gatling guns rose up out of Proud Clod's shoulders, the group dodged out of the way as the gatling gun opened fire.

Barret let out a yell as he opened fire with a barrage of bullets of his own, Cloud ran at Proud Clod dodging and leaping out of the way as it slammed its fists down repeatedly aiming to crush him. Cloud's sword glowed with a light gold energy as Cloud slashed vertically at Proud Clod's legs before slashing diagonally in the shape of a cross chipping the armour on its legs away. "You can't do that!" Scarlet yelled through an intercom as a hole opened up in Proud Clods knee. Cloud dodged out of the way of the flames, Yuffie's hand glowed blue before she cast an ice spell on the flames freezing them. Barret's gun arm charged with a green energy before he fired the energy ball at the frozen flames causing it to blow up and incinerate Proud Clod's leg armour.

Back on the cannon the mutated Hojo reached the group and slashed at Zack with his giant claws but Zack managed to catch Hojo's hand and with all his strength he forced Hojo's hand back. _"Shit…he's become so strong…" _Zack thought to himself as beads of sweat fell from his forehead and landed on Hojo's arm.

"Ha, ha, ha!" Hojo laughed deeply as he smirked at Zack. "You're weak compared to me! What I injected into myself is an improved version of what I injected into you! You're obsolete!" Hojo continued to goad Zack as he whipped his tail round and wrapped it round Aerith causing her to scream. "And when I've disposed of you and Vincent…I'm going to take your girlfriend and create many ultimate soldiers!"

"You're sick!" Aerith screamed as she punched Hojo's tail.

"Struggle all you want!" Hojo yelled at Aerith as he bashed her against the railing, "but my tail has a strong grip, you'll never break free!" Zack threw Hojo's hand back and ran to Hojo's tail to try and free Aerith but Hojo backhanded Zack in the face knocking the drag human to the ground, Hojo then grabbed Zack by the neck and dragged him up. "I don't think so…" Hojo taunted as he dug his claws into Zack's neck.

Zack struggled in vain as the claws scratched his neck and Hojo's fingers pressed tighter on Zack's neck strangling him. Several gunshots could be heard and Hojo roared in pain as several bullets pierced his back, Hojo looked round and saw Vincent pointing his gun at him. Zack saw that Hojo was distracted and he slowly pulled Hojo's hand off his neck before he bit down hard on Hojo's hand.

"Aaaahhh!" Hojo yelled in pain as he looked down at his hand which was now bleeding slightly before he threw Zack into the control panel, Hojo then ran at Zack and brought his arms down. Zack rolled out of the way as Hojo's hands smashed into the control panel completely destroying it.

Aerith saw her chance and cast a fire spell on Hojo's tail causing it to loosen its grip and release her. Hojo yelled in pain again and scowled at Aerith. "You'll pay for that…" Hojo hissed under his breath before opening his mouth and breathing a jet of flames out at her. Aerith leapt out of the way just as Vincent ran passed her in Galian Beast form and the flames hit him instead, however instead of the flames hurting him Vincent absorbed them and his body glowed with yellow energy before he breathed out fireballs which were twice as powerful at Hojo's. Hojo opened his giant wings and wrapped them round himself to shield him from the fireballs. The fireballs hit Hojo's wings and singed them, when Hojo pulled his wings back his body was relatively unharmed.

Back in the streets of sector eight Barret continued to open fire at Proud Clod, Yuffie fired a lightning spell at the gatling guns on Proud Clod's shoulders completely destroying them. Proud Clod's core opened up and fired a white laser at the group, the group dodged out of the way, Cid leapt up in the air and held his spear out below him. As soon as the laser fizzled out Cid dropped down spear first and drove his spear into the core causing it to crackle. Cid pulled on his spear completely cracking the core of the Proud Clod, Cid then leapt off Proud Clod's body and moved out of the way as Proud Clod fell to its knees.

Tifa saw her chance and dashed at the now weak Proud Clod, she punched Proud Clod repeatedly in the chest, before performing a somersault on it. She then leapt up into the air and punched the cockpit window completely smashing it. She then ran back as Cloud ran over and leapt into the air holding his sword behind him, Cloud then sliced down and cut through the internal wiring of the Proud Clod causing it to spark.

Cloud quickly moved out of the way as the Proud Clod continued to spark, "no!" Scarlet's panicked yells could be heard as she fell out of the broken cockpit bleeding profusely from numerous wounds. "Not the Proud Clod!"

"This can't be happening!" Heidegger shouted as he also slid out of the cockpit injured, the group stepped back and dived to the ground as Proud Clod exploded taking Scarlet and Heidegger with it. The Proud Clod's debris flew all over the place. As soon as it was safe the group leapt to their feet.

"What a way to go…" Cloud uttered as he shook his head.

"They had it coming…" Tifa stated coldly as she looked at what was left of the Proud Clod. "Still being blown to smithereens isn't a nice way to go…"

"We must keep going!" Cait Sith told them urgently as he jumped around on Cloud's shoulder.

"Where to?" Cloud asked as he looked at the robotic cat on his shoulder.

"Through that alley," Cait Sith told the group as he pointed to the street behind the Proud Clod debris. The group ran through the alley until they reached a metal tower with a flight of stairs. The group ran up the stairs as fast as they could.

On top of the tower Hojo threw several ice balls at Aerith, Vincent and Zack, Zack swung his tail round and deflected some of the ice balls away from him and sent them flying back at Hojo. Vincent in his Galian Beast form countered the ice balls with fireballs instantly melting them on impact and Aerith cast a reflect spell on herself to deflect the rest of the ice balls. Hojo lashed out and grabbed Zack by the tail in his teeth and swung the young drag human round and round above his head.

Aerith ran up to Hojo and swung her staff round and hit Hojo in his stomach winding him. In his shock Hojo released Zack sending him flying. Zack almost went over the edge but he managed to grab on to the railing and pulled himself back up before he lunged at Hojo claws outstretched. He landed on Hojo and the two drag humans clawed, punched and bit each other, after a while Zack was able to overpower Hojo and he picked him up and threw him over to the damaged control panel.

Zack, Aerith and Vincent who was now back in his human form ran over to Hojo. Hojo moaned as he staggered slowly to his feet, Hojo was about to turn round and face the group but his eyes grew wide with shock as he felt something stab into his back and he coughed up blood before looking down and seeing a purple spear end sticking out through his stomach. Hojo turned his head round and saw that Zack had impaled him with his tail, "what was that? About me being obsolete?" Zack questioned as he smirked at Hojo.

"Y…you…" Hojo stammered as he coughed up more blood.

"You turned me into a weapon, you should've known that I'd eventually turn on you and kill you." Zack told Hojo as he glared at him. "Even though you injected yourself with the same substance you injected me with I still beat you, but not because I was stronger than you, but because I had my friends with me."

Hojo moaned as Zack twisted his tail doubling the pain, Hojo then winced as he felt the barrel of a gun on his forehead. He looked up and saw Vincent in front of him holding a gun. "For thirty years I blamed myself for what happened, even slept in a coffin for my sins…but really you're the one to blame for all this. It's your sin, not mine and it's time you paid for it…"

"You hurt so many people Hojo and now it's time for you to get what you deserve," Aerith added as she stared coldly at Hojo.

Zack and Vincent looked at each other before smirking, "game over," they both said in unison before Vincent shot Hojo in the forehead at point blank range just as Cloud and the others reached the top of the tower. Zack removed his tail from Hojo's stomach and back causing the scientist to fall to the ground lifeless with a bullet hole in his forehead and a larger hole in his stomach and back where Zack's tail had been. Hojo then de-transformed as Cloud and the others ran over to Zack, Aerith and Vincent.

"Are you guys ok?" Cloud asked as he gave the three a concerned look.

"We are now," Vincent answered as he sheathed his gun.

"Looks like the S.O.B.s beat us to it," Cid remarked as he looked at Hojo's dead body.

"It's over…it's finally over…" Zack stated with relief as he reverted to his human form.

"We can rest easier now that Hojo is gone," Vincent replied, thunder sounded as it started to rain heavily. Vincent held his head back and closed his eyes as he let the raindrops hit his head.

"I still can't believe that Sephiroth is Hojo's son," Aerith uttered as she shook her head.

"What?" Everyone except Zack and Vincent yelled at the same time.

Aerith explained everything that Hojo had told them, "so, Sephiroth is Hojo's biological son…" Yuffie uttered as she pulled a face. "Gross…"

"I'm trying not to think about it…" Zack uttered as he closed his eyes.

"Well at least Sephiroth won't be getting any energy from the cannon," Cloud stated as he looked over at the damage console. "And Hojo won't be conducting anymore of his twisted experiments on anyone else, and it's thanks to you Zack and Vincent."

"I did it out of revenge…" Zack replied as he folded his arms stubbornly.

"And the fact that you care about the Planet," Aerith added as she smiled at Zack.

Zack stared at Aerith, "yeah…that too…" He responded, "our work is done here we should get back to the Highwind." Without another word the group left the cannon and made their way out of Midgar where the Highwind landed and picked them up. A few minutes later everyone was standing in the navigation room of the Highwind, "the Shinra are finished…" Zack stated solemnly as he looked out the window.

"How long do we have until Meteor falls?" Tifa questioned as she looked over at Aerith.

"About forty eight hours," Aerith answered as she folded her arms and looked down at the floor sadly.

Cloud sighed as he heard this and closed his eyes, he then opened them before looking at Red. "Red, you wanna see everyone at Cosmo Canyon again, right?" Cloud asked the beast.

"Yes," Red answered without hesitation.

Cloud then turned to Barret, "and you want to see Marlene again, right?"

"What kind of a dumb ass question is that?" Barret demanded as he glared at Cloud, "of course I wanna see Marlene again!"

"We're gonna beat Sephiroth," Cloud stated as he walked over to the window. "And if we can't release Holy's power in forty eight hours then we're done for…and if we can't defeat Sephiroth…well…we just die sooner than everyone else."

"I hope you're not thinkin' that this is over before it begins," Zack stated as he looked over at Cloud.

"Of course not!" Cloud yelled defiantly before he walked to the centre of the room. "What I mean is, all of us here in this room have something to fight for. I mean other than for the future of the Planet, for me, it's a personal feud." Cloud admitted as he looked at his friends. "I want to beat Sephiroth and settle my past and saving the Planet will be part of that…but I think that really we're all fighting for ourselves and that special someone in our lives…we want to protect them and that's why we keep fighting."

"You're right," Zack agreed as he walked over to Aerith. "I joined up with you guys because I knew that sooner or later I knew that you'd confront Hojo. I wanted to kill him for revenge not only for what he did to me, but also for those countless innocents he hurt," Zack explained as he sighed sadly. "But I still feel the need to fight, but this time it's not for revenge…this time I'm fighting for you Aerith," Zack continued as he looked at Aerith and clasped her hand in both of his. "I'm fighting because I want to protect you…protect our future."

Aerith smiled when she heard that, "you're so sweet Zack," Aerith stated before she kissed him on the lips.

Barret scratched his head as he looked at Cloud, "it sounds cool sayin' it's to save the Planet," he replied before shaking his head. "But I was the one that blew up that Mako Reactor, lookin' back on it now I realise that it wasn't such a good idea, I made so many innocent people suffer." Barret then thrust his hand up in the air. "At first I wanted revenge on Shinra for destroyin' ma hometown but now…I wanna fight for Marlene…I wanna save the Planet for her sake."

"Wow Barret…I guess even you have a heart…" Zack muttered sarcastically causing Barret to scowl at him.

"Zack…" Cloud said the man's name in a low voice before turning back to Barret, "go and see her," he told Barret before turning to the others. "Everyone, leave the ship and find the thing you're fighting for and come back."

"What if none of us wanna come back…" Cid questioned as he looked at Cloud. "I mean…Meteor's gonna strike in two days anyway so why don't we just forget this useless strugglin' and enjoy whatever time we have left?"

"We have to try…" Aerith told Cid, "this Planet and everyone on it is worth fighting for."

"Aerith's right," Zack agreed with the Cetra. "We've gotta do something."

"Well I'm fighting," Cloud stated stubbornly. "I'm fighting for the Planet but I'm also fighting for a very personal memory that I have. Look, just go out there and find it for yourselves and if you don't, well that's ok. You can't fight without a reason, and you don't have to come back, and if you don't…well I won't hold it against you."

Cid nodded as he listened to what Cloud said, "yer good at makin' speeches I'll give ya that…" Cid uttered before sighing, "just tell me where y'all wanna go and I'll drop you off."

Cid dropped everyone off at their various destinations and the whole group went their separate ways to find their reason for fighting. Half an hour later Zack and Aerith were walking through the jungle which led to Gongaga. "I don't know about this Aerith…" Zack uttered nervously as they approached the entrance to the village.

"Meteor will fall in two days and this could be the last chance for you to see your family," Aerith reasoned with Zack as she took hold of his hand.

"I know but…I really don't want them to see me like this…" Zack protested.

"They're your parents," Aerith replied as she gave Zack a pleading look. "They haven't heard from you in ten years, they're worried about you, the least you can do is let them know you're ok."

Zack sighed, "Alright…I'll go and see them," Zack gave in as Aerith smiled at him. The two entered the village and walked through hand in hand until they reached a hut at the south end of the village. "Well this is their house," Zack told Aerith, he reached his hand up to knock on the door but he hesitated for a moment before lowering his hand again.

"What's wrong?" Aerith asked him.

Zack sighed, "Say they answer the door…what can I say to them?" Zack answered as he ran his hand through his hair. "Hi mum and dad, it's me Zack…sorry I haven't been in touch with you for ten years but I was experimented on and turned into a monster."

"Well you don't have to say much," Aerith told Zack. "As long as they know you're alive and well…then that's all that matters."

"I guess you're right," Zack replied before lifting his hand up again and knocking on the door. A couple of minutes later a middle aged woman with greying black hair and wearing a purple dress and a white apron answered the door.

"Yes…" the woman asked as she looked at Zack and Aerith. "Can I help you?"

Zack stood there frozen on the spot unable to speak, it had been ten years since he had seen this woman and he didn't know what to say to her. "What are you waiting for?" Aerith whispered in Zack's ear.

Zack sighed for a moment and lowered his head so that the woman couldn't see his eyes, "mum…" Zack finally managed to utter causing the woman to stare at him in shock.

"Z…Zack…" she stammered hardly daring to believe that the man stood in front of her was her son. "Is that really you?"

Zack nodded still keeping his head low, "yeah…" he answered. "I came home…"

Before Zack could do or say anything his mum walked closer to him and hugged him tightly. Zack reluctantly lifted his arms up and hugged the woman back, after a while the woman released him and looked over at Aerith. "You're that young lady who came by not too long ago," she stated as she smiled at Aerith.

"It's good to see you again," Aerith replied politely as she smiled back.

"Thank you for finding my son and bringing him home," Zack's mum thanked Aerith.

"You're welcome," Aerith replied as she nodded her head.

"You must both be tired after your long trip, please come in," Zack's mother offered as she moved aside to let Zack and Aerith in.

"Thank you," Aerith replied gratefully as she and Zack stepped into the house. Zack was careful to keep his head down as the two entered a small living room with very simplistic furniture. Aerith saw a middle aged man with thin black hair tinged with grey and a bald spot in the middle of his head. He was wearing a white vest and baggy pants and he sat in an arm chair watching a small tv.

"Hank," Zack's mum walked over to the man. "You'll never guess what…" the woman started to say.

"Damn it Martha!" Hank snapped as he looked up at his wife. "Can't you see I'm tryin' to watch the tv?"

"But our son has finally come home," Martha blurted it out through the excitement.

"What?" Hank questioned as he looked over to the door to see a young woman with chestnut brown hair and dressed in pink and next to her was a young man with black spiky hair and dressed in black, his head was still hanging low. "Zack…" Hank uttered as he stood up and walked over to his son. "Is that really you?"

"Hi dad…" Zack muttered barely above a whisper still keeping his head down.

Zack's body stiffened as he felt his father hug him as well but Zack reluctantly hugged him back. After a while his father released him. "Well, let me take a good look at ya," Hank stated as he looked at Zack.

"He's grown up so handsomely," Martha fawned over her son causing Zack to cringe at her words.

"Well, look up at me boy," Hank demanded as he stared at Zack.

Zack stubbornly kept his head down refusing to look up at his parents, "Zack…" Aerith questioned as she gave him a concerned look.

Martha walked over to him, "are you ok Zack?" Martha asked she too was filled with concern.

"I'm fine…" Zack answered blankly.

"Then why are you looking down?" Martha questioned, "please, I want to look into my son's beautiful eyes."

Zack sighed sadly, "ok…but don't be shocked by what you see," he told his parents before lifting his head up and opening his eyes to reveal that they were yellow and his pupils were slits.

Martha screamed and Hank leapt back in shock, "he's a monster!" Hank yelled as he stared at Zack in shock. "Martha get my shotgun."

"I told you this was a bad idea…" Zack whispered to Aerith.

"Look we can explain," Aerith spoke up causing Zack's parents to look at her.

Zack sighed again as he knew that he'd have to tell his parents what happened to him, "I was experimented on," Zack admitted to his parents. "That's why I haven't been in contact with you…"

"Experimented on…what do you mean?" Martha questioned as she gave Zack a confused stare.

"Please don't be shocked and don't threaten to shoot me," Zack begged his parents. "But you both need to see this," Zack told them before he closed his eyes and focused. His skin became purple and his wings and tail appeared. Martha screamed slightly but she didn't panic, "this is the result of the experiments that were conducted on me…dragon DNA was injected into me and it fused with my DNA and changed it…" Zack explained, "I'm still human…pretty much…but I have a drag human form, extra speed and strength and other powers that I'm still getting to grips with."

Zack's parents stared at him too stunned to speak for a while, "why didn't you tell us this before?" Martha questioned breaking the awkward silence.

Zack hung his head, "I was scared of what you'd think of me," he admitted a hint of sadness in his voice. "I was scared that you'd brand me as a monster and cast me out…"

"We're your parents Zack," Martha told Zack as she walked over to him and hugged him. "And we love you no matter what you look like."

"Your mother's right," Hank added as he walked over to Zack and hugged him as well. "We're not gonna abandon ya, we were just shocked that's all." Zack smiled when he heard this and he reverted to his human form. "Why don't you and your lady friend sit down? Make yerselves more comfortable."

"Thank you," Aerith replied gratefully as she and Zack sat down on a sofa while Hank sat back down in his armchair. Martha left the living room and entered the kitchen, a little while later she returned with four glasses of lemonade.

"Thanks mum," Zack thanked his mother as he took a glass of lemonade from the tray and Aerith and Hank did the same. Martha smiled and nodded before sitting on the arm of the chair that Hank was sitting in.

The four then started talking and Martha told Aerith about Zack's childhood which caused Zack to blush with embarrassment. "I remember Zack's cousin's wedding, he looked so cute in that outfit…"

"Mum…" Zack moaned as he blushed again.

"Do you have any pictures?" Aerith asked as she smiled at Martha.

"I think we have them somewhere," Martha answered as she stood up and went to the shelf to look for them.

"You don't need to embarrass the boy in front of his girlfriend," Hank quickly jumped in causing Martha to stop searching and walk back. "Besides, I want to hear all about your adventures."

"Of course!" Martha yelled in excitement as she sat down again completely forgetting about the photos which Zack was pleased about. "Please tell us."

Zack with Aerith's help explained everything that had happened from the moment they met again in Midgar all the way up to the present. "So you're going to the far North to fight this Sephiroth person…" Hank questioned when Zack and Aerith had finished.

"Yeah," Zack answered as he and Aerith nodded.

"You can't go…" Martha pleaded with her son as she walked over to him and clasped his hand. "We only just saw you again after all these years…"

"It's not the first time I've stared death in the face," Zack informed his parents. "And it won't be the last either."

"But still…it's much too dangerous…" Martha continued to protest. "And we don't want to lose you again…"

"You won't," Zack reassured his mother. "Look, I know you're worried about me but I'm a grown man now, I can take care of myself."

"Yes, you're right," Martha stated as she smiled at Zack. "Plus you won't be alone," she added as she looked over at Aerith. She then looked out of the window and saw that it was dark, "but you can at least stay for the night…"

Zack looked over at Aerith who nodded, "we have time to stay the night," she told Zack's parents.

Martha was delighted at this, "I'm glad to hear that, Zack, you're room is exactly as you left it." Martha informed Zack.

"Thanks mum," Zack replied gratefully.

"And Aerith, I'm sorry we don't have any spare rooms," Martha apologised.

"She can share my room," Zack suggested.

"Are you sure?" Martha questioned as she gave Zack a sceptical stare.

"Mum, I'm an adult now…" Zack told his mother.

"I guess you're right," Martha responded before smiling.

"Night mum, night dad," Zack bade his parents goodnight.

"Night son," they replied in unison.

Zack and Aerith walked to the far end of the living room and walked through a door which led to Zack's room. "So this was your childhood room…" Aerith uttered as she looked around the fairly small room.

"Yeah…" Zack answered as he walked over to his bed and sat down on it. "I can't believe it's actually been untouched for ten years."

"Until now," Aerith stated as she smirked at Zack.

"Sorry, it looks like we'll be sharing the bed," Zack told Aerith as he patted the bed. "You don't mind do you?"

Aerith shook her head, "of course not," she answered as she walked over to the bed and sat down next to him. "I mean it's only for one night."

"Well, maybe if we play our cards right it'll be more than one night," Zack stated flirtatiously as he purred slightly.

"Zack…" Aerith uttered as she slapped him playfully on the arm.

"I'm serious…" Zack replied as he smiled at her.

"Let's just get ready for bed," Aerith quickly changed the subject as she got up and opened her bag and pulled out a large pink nightie. She was about to get changed when she suddenly looked back at Zack, "errr…Zack…" Aerith uttered as she gave Zack a nervous stare.

"Yeah…" Zack asked as he stared back at her.

"I need a little privacy here," Aerith requested as she pointed at her nightie.

"Come on," Zack stated as he stood up and walked over to Aerith. "You're forgetting that I saw you in your underwear at one point," Zack reminded her.

"That's because we were captured and were forcefully stripped down to our underwear," Aerith replied as she stared at Zack nervously. "So we didn't really have much of a choice."

"I know, but you gotta admit you did look incredibly sexy in your underwear," Zack complimented Aerith as he let out a long purr.

Aerith scowled at him, "is that all you ever think about?" Aerith questioned.

"Of course not," Zack answered as he smirked playfully at Aerith. "I also think about what you'd look like wearing a bikini."

"Zack!" Aerith yelled as she shoved him away.

"Relax, I'm kidding…" Zack uttered quickly as he continued to smirk. "But seriously if it makes you feel any better I'll close my eyes until you're ready, ok."

Aerith's scowl turned to a smile, "ok, oh and could you go back to the bed?" Aerith asked as she pointed to Zack's bed.

"Sure," Zack answered as he walked back over to the bed and lay down on it before closing his eyes.

Aerith shook her head as she started to get changed, after a few minutes she was ready. "You can open your eyes now," Aerith told Zack. Zack opened his eyes and smiled when he saw Aerith in her nightie, he then stripped down to his boxers and got into the bed before Aerith got in next to him.

Aerith sighed deeply to herself, "what's wrong?" Zack questioned as he gave her a concerned look.

"I was just thinking…" Aerith answered as she looked away from Zack. "What if we can't defeat Sephiroth? What if we can't save the Planet from Meteor?"

Zack placed his hand under Aerith's chin and gently got her to look at him, "we'll cross that bridge when we get there," Zack reassured Aerith as he stroked the side of her face. "For now…let's just enjoy tonight."

"You read my mind…" Aerith stated, she smiled at Zack before she kissed him on the lips. Zack smiled back and kissed her just as passionately as he lay back down in the bed and pulled Aerith on top of him as they continued to kiss long into the night.

The next morning Aerith woke up lying at the side of Zack, her arm was placed over his chest. Aerith quickly sat up and pulled some of the covers over herself and looked around. She looked to the window and saw sunbeams shining through the curtains, she looked down on the floor and she saw her nightie lying there. Aerith smiled as she remembered the night before. _"It was one of the happiest moments of my life…" _She thought blissfully before coming to her senses. "But it's morning…" Aerith looked down at Zack and saw that he was still asleep, his small fangs curled out of his mouth and his arm was hanging over his head and he let out soft growls as he breathed. _"He's so cute when he's sleeping."_

A little while later Aerith knew that it was time for them both to get up, "Zack…wake up…" Aerith whispered to her boyfriend as she gently shook him. "It's morning…"

Zack moaned before he opened his eyes, "huh…" he muttered sleepily.

"It's morning…" Aerith repeated as she giggled at Zack's sleepiness.

Zack yawned, "oh…morning…" Zack rubbed his eyes and shook his head in an effort to wake himself up. After a few minutes he sat up and smiled at Aerith, "sleep well…" he questioned.

Aerith nodded, "yeah," she answered as she smiled back at him. "I think it was because I was sleeping next to you, with your warm body keeping me safe…" she continued as she ran a finger along his chest. A few minutes later a strange smell drifted into the room, "what's that smell?" Aerith asked as she sniffed up.

"That's mum cooking breakfast," Zack answered as he closed his eyes.

"Great…I'm starving," Aerith stated as she got out of the bed and quickly got changed.

"What's the rush?" Zack asked as he looked at her.

"We need to contact Cid and tell him to pick us up as soon as possible," Aerith reminded Zack of their mission.

"I forgot it was D-day today," Zack replied, he sighed for a moment. "But the bed is just so comfortable…" Aerith scowled at him. "Alright…I'll get up…" Zack said with a huff before he got up and quickly got changed, "but I know what my mum is like, she won't let us leave until we have a good breakfast inside us."

"I don't mind," Aerith replied as she kissed Zack on the lips. "Come on…let's get our things together."

Zack and Aerith gathered up their belongings before leaving the room, they entered the kitchen to see that Zack's parents were already up. Zack's father was sat at the table reading a newspaper while his mother was in the middle of cooking breakfast, "morning," Martha greeted cheerfully as she put bacon, eggs, sausage and tomatoes on plates. "You hungry?"

"Starving…" Zack answered as his stomach growled, Aerith giggled at this.

"Sit down both of you and I'll bring it over," Martha replied as she pointed to the table. Zack and Aerith sat down just as Martha put two plates of food in front of them.

"This looks nice," Aerith remarked as she smiled at the food. She picked up her knife and fork and slowly started to eat, she looked up at Zack who was just wolfing the food down and she scowled at him.

"What…" Zack asked his mouth was full of food. Aerith shook her head as she continued eating, after a while they had both eaten. "Thanks mum," Zack replied gratefully as Martha collected their plates. "You still cook the best breakfast in the world."

"You say the nicest things Zack," Martha stated as she ruffled Zack's hair before taking the plates to the sink to wash them.

"Thank you for the lovely food," Aerith thanked Zack's mother.

"You're very welcome," Martha responded as she smiled at Aerith. "We didn't want you going anywhere without a proper breakfast, right Hank?"

"What…" Hank questioned as he looked up from his newspaper.

"Just get back to your newspaper," Martha answered.

"Well we should call Cid," Zack stated as he stood up and took his mobile out. "Tell him to come and pick us up." Zack dialled Cid's number and walked to a more secluded spot in the house.

Meanwhile Martha approached Aerith, "I know he acts tough but he's still my little boy," Martha told Aerith as she gave Zack a concerned look. "Please take care of him."

"I will," Aerith replied as she patted Martha's hand. "I love him a lot."

"I know you do," Martha stated. "He loves you too."

Zack hung up on the phone and walked back over to them, "Cid said he'd be here in ten minutes," he told them. "We better go out and wait for him."

"Goodbye Zack," Martha said tearfully as she hugged her son.

"Take care of yourself son," Hank added as he took hugged Zack. "And take care of that girl, cos she's a good'en…"

"I will dad," Zack promised.

"Oh before I forget, Zack a lady friend of yours came by last night after you went to bed," Martha informed Zack.

"Lady friend..." Zack repeated as he gave his mother a blank stare.

"Yes, a young woman said she wanted to give you something," Martha answered as she gave Zack a piece of paper.

Zack opened it and read it, "Zack, I'm glad you're ok, I heard that you and your friends were going to the Northern Cave to defeat Sephiroth. I called at your parents' house last night but they told me that you'd gone to bed. I just wanted to wish you luck and I hope that you can find a way to stop Meteor and maybe one day we'll meet again."

"Who is she?" Aerith questioned as she gave Zack a sceptical stare.

"It doesn't say," Zack told Aerith truthfully.

"Sounds like she fancies you in that letter," Aerith stated sulkily.

"Aerith...I'm friendly with a lot of women...I had my own fan club at one point," Zack responded defensively. " A fan club created by women who fancied me..."

"Are you in touch with these women?" Aerith demanded.

"No..." Zack answered truthfully. "The fan club was disbanded...look you're the woman I love Aerith and I'm telling you the truth."

Aerith gave Zack a sceptical stare before she smiled at him, "I'm sorry," she apologized to Zack.

"It's ok," Zack accepted Aerith's apology. "Besides I think it's the same woman that's been guiding us," Zack added.

"How can you tell?" Aerith asked.

"The writing in this letter is the same as the other letters," Zack answered as he showed Aerith the letter.

"Oh yeah, it is the same writing," Aerith uttered as Zack folded up the letter and put it in his pocket.

"Well I guess we better get going," Zack finally said, "you know what Cid is like if we keep him waiting."

"Goodbye you two," Martha stated as she and Hank waved Zack and Aerith off

Zack and Aerith waved back and left his parents' house, they left the village and walked through the jungle just as the Highwind arrived to pick them up. Aerith and Zack climbed aboard the Highwind and entered the navigation room to find everyone there. "You guys are all here!" Aerith exclaimed as she ran over to her friends and hugged each of them in turn.

"Yeah…" Cloud replied as he gave Tifa a nervous glance.

"Am I missing something?" Zack questioned as he gave Cloud a sly smile.

"Errr…" Cloud stammered before Tifa took hold of his hand.

"You don't have to say anything," Zack stated as he continued to smirk. "Your actions are speaking loud and clear."

"Did you see your parents?" Tifa questioned quickly changing the subject.

"Yeah," Zack answered, "I told them about my mutation and they still love me."

"That's good to hear," Cloud replied as he smiled at Zack.

Zack looked over and saw Yuffie talking to Vincent before hugging him, "are Yuffie and Vincent…" Zack started to ask.

"I wouldn't ask…" Was all Tifa said.

"So she decided to come back…" Zack stated as he gave Yuffie a sceptical stare.

"Of course I came back!" Yuffie yelled as she stomped over to Zack. "I wasn't gonna let you guys have all the fun…besides…Cloud promised me that when all this was over I could have all the Materia…" She finished as she gave Cloud a hopeful look.

"So that's how you kept her on side…" Zack whispered in Cloud's ear.

"Yeah…" Cloud answered, "besides…we won't have any need for it either way." Cloud added as he smiled at Zack. He then turned to Cid, "ok Cid, let's go to the Northern Crater and finish this once and for all."

"You got it!" Cid yelled as he saluted at Cloud, "hold on to yer pants, I'm gonna put this baby into hyperdrive!" Cid laughed manically as he pulled a lever at the side of the control panel, two side panels open up near the back of the Highwind and two large thrusters emerged out of the open panels. Cid pushed a button on the control panel causing the two thrusters to ignite and the Highwind to suddenly rocket forwards causing everyone to be knocked off balance.

"Yeeeee haaaaaawwwww!" Cid yelled enthusiastically as his team mates screamed.

"I think I'm gonna be sick!" Yuffie screamed as she wretched.

"Don't ya fuckin' dare!" Cid yelled as he glared at Yuffie, "besides…we're makin' good time…" Cid added as the Highwind continued to speed towards the Northern Crater.

"_This ends here Sephiroth…" _Cloud thought to himself as he held on for dear life as he and the others were fast approaching what could be their final battle.

* * *

**Chapter 16 is finally complete, sorry it took so long but my computer stopped working for some time and I only got it back a couple of weeks ago. The final chapter for this story will be coming soon. Just a reminder that I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters and content, they belong to Square Enix.**


	17. Final Battle:Holy vs Meteor

**Chapter 17: Final Battle, Holy Vs Meteor**

As the Highwind made its way to the Northern crater Yuffie was stood on the deck looking down at the vast ocean below her and the wind blowing through her hair causing the ends of her head band to blow to the side. She sighed happily to herself as she continued to look down, _"last night was the best night of my life…" _ She thought to herself as she closed her eyes and smiled blissfully unaware that someone was creeping up behind her.

"What are you doing?" A deep voice spoke up suddenly causing Yuffie to jump.

"I started feeling sick so I came out here to get some fresh air," Yuffie answered as she turned round to see Vincent stood behind her.

"I see…" Vincent replied as he walked to the railing next to Yuffie and looked out. He heard Yuffie sigh, "What's wrong?" He asked as he turned round to look at her.

"I was just thinking about last night," Yuffie answered as she looked over and smiled at Vincent.

"Last night…" Vincent questioned as he gave Yuffie a blank stare.

"Don't tell me you forgot…" Yuffie demanded as she slightly scowled at Vincent, the dark man continued to stare at her blankly causing her to sigh. "Even if you did forget I'll still remember it…" she added in a slightly happier tone as she looked back out towards the scenery.

* * *

(Flashback)

_Cid dropped Yuffie and Vincent off at Wutai after Yuffie had spent half an hour trying to convince him to accompany her. "I'm gonna have to drop you off here," Cid told the two before they left the bridge. "You'll have to walk the rest of the way."_

"_I'd rather walk it than put up with another minute of your reckless flying!" Yuffie yelled at the pilot as she tried hard not to throw up._

"_If you don't like ma flyin' ya can always stay here, it would do us all a favour!" Cid retorted causing Yuffie to storm off._

_Vincent sighed as he followed Yuffie out to the deck, one of the crew members saluted as the two approached and lowered the rope ladder. "Thanks," Vincent replied gratefully as he climbed down the rope ladder and Yuffie followed him._

_Yuffie barely got off the ladder when Cid decided to take off causing her to fall, Vincent helped her up. "You bastard!" Yuffie screamed at the top of her lungs as she shook her fist at the Highwind as it flew off into the distance. Yuffie grumbled as she pulled away from Vincent and stomped off, Vincent shook his head as he calmly followed her._

"_I don't think Cid did it on purpose," Vincent tried to reason with Yuffie as he struggled to keep up with her. _

"_Of course he did!" Yuffie snapped as she turned round to look at Vincent her eyes were filled with anger. "He's got it in for me!"_

"_I think you're being paranoid," Vincent told Yuffie which caused the ninja to walk even faster._

"_Yuffie please slow down," Vincent pleaded with the girl as he started to run._

_Yuffie sighed but she slowed down allowing the older man to keep up with her, "happy now?" She asked sarcastically._

"_Don't take it out on me just because you're mad at Cid," Vincent replied slightly irritably. "I agreed to come with you while you try to find the reason you're fighting."_

"_I know…" Yuffie replied as she calmed down. "I thought that you would've gone to Lucrecia's cave…" Yuffie added as she gave Vincent a questioning look._

"_Lucrecia is in a permanent comatose state," Vincent told Yuffie. "No amount of hoping or praying will snap her out of it, besides, she'd want me to move on with my life."_

"_I see…" Yuffie stated as she nodded to show that she understood. After a short walk through the field the two eventually reached the small oriental village of Wutai, they saw plenty of people going about their daily business as usual. "How can people just go about their daily business when Meteor is gonna fall in two days…" Yuffie questioned hardly daring to believe what she was seeing._

"_People want to do as much as possible before they die," Vincent answered as the two walked through the town. "We should do the same, maybe you should go and see your father."_

"_That miserable git! No way!" Yuffie protested as she shook her head, "he's always trying to control me."_

"_This could be the last chance you get," Vincent tried to reason with her._

_Yuffie sighed, "Fine…I'll go and see him and make my peace with him," Yuffie gave in. "If it'll get you off my case…" the two walked through market district and entered the area where the Pagoda tower and Godo's mansion were. Yuffie sighed as she and Vincent walked to the door of Godo's mansion. "I can't believe I'm doing this…" Yuffie muttered under her breath._

"_He's your father, the least you can do is make peace with him," Vincent told Yuffie._

_Yuffie sighed again she knew that Vincent was right, she grabbed the ornate looking door knocker and banged it against the door several times. The door opened a young woman wearing oriental style clothing answered the door, "may I help…" the young woman stopped in midsentence when she saw Yuffie and instantly recognized her. "Miss Yuffie…" the woman uttered as she bowed her head to greet Yuffie, "what brings you here?"_

"_We're here to see my father…" Yuffie answered reluctantly as the woman nodded._

"_Of course Miss Yuffie, come in," the woman answered as she stepped to the side to let Yuffie and Vincent into the mansion. "Please come this way," the woman continued as she led them down the hall._

"_Happy now…" Yuffie whispered to Vincent as she scowled at him slightly._

"_Yes," Vincent replied indifferent to Yuffie's scowl. "This could be the only chance you get to make peace with him."_

"_Even though he's a stubborn old git…" Yuffie retorted._

"_Yes," Vincent answered as the two continued to follow the woman through the hallway._

"_Here we are," the woman stated as the three stopped outside a door. "I'll just see if Lord Godo is busy," the woman added as she knocked on the door._

"_What is it this time?" A gruff voice that Yuffie and Vincent recognized yelled through the door. _

"_There are two guests that are here to see you," the woman answered._

"_Tell them I'm busy!" Godo shouted causing Yuffie to grind her teeth irritably._

"_But…Lord…" The woman started to speak._

"_Get out of the way!" Yuffie interrupted as she barged passed the woman and kicked the door open to see Godo sat at a desk writing. "Too busy to see your own daughter huh?" Yuffie demanded as she placed her hands on her hips and glared at her father._

_Godo stood up and scowled at Yuffie, "still the same obnoxious brat as always!" Godo retorted causing the young woman's eye to twitch._

"_And you're just a selfish old man who's stuck in his ways!" Yuffie snapped back as she balled her hands into fists and tried to run at Godo but Vincent walked over to Yuffie and grabbed her shoulders. "Let go of me!" Yuffie yelled as she struggled against Vincent's grip._

"_You're here to make peace with your father, not start a war with him." Vincent reminded Yuffie of the reason she was there._

_Yuffie sighed before she gave up, "fine…" Yuffie uttered before Vincent released her. _

"_Why are you here?" Godo demanded as he continued to stare at his daughter._

"_Meteor will fall any day now," Yuffie answered sincerely. "I thought I'd come here to make peace with you before it fell…"_

"_I see…" Godo answered as he nodded to show that he understood. _

"_Would it be ok if me and Vincent stayed the night?" Yuffie requested, "Just so that we can take in the sights one last time before we leave…"_

"_Leave…" Godo repeated as he slightly raised his eyebrow._

"_Me and Vincent are going to the Northern Cave to help our friends defeat__ Sephiroth__," Yuffie informed Godo._

"_Out of the question!" Godo yelled loudly as he glared at Yuffie, "no daughter of mine is going to go gallivanting off to some cave!"_

"_Well I'm going whether you like it or not!" Yuffie yelled back stubbornly as she glared at Godo. _

"_You will stay here and behave like a Wutinian woman should act!" Godo ordered._

"_You mean be obedient and not have any thoughts and opinions of my own!" Yuffie snapped as she jabbed her finger into Godo's chest. "You'd like that wouldn't you? For me to be the loyal daughter and to do everything I'm told without question!"_

_Godo slapped Yuffie hard in the face causing her to stumble slightly, "Don't you ever answer me back you insolent brat!" Godo yelled at Yuffie._

"_I'll talk to you however I want!" Yuffie snapped as she rubbed her cheek where Godo had hit her. "I'm going to the Northern Cave with my friends and you can't stop me!" Yuffie added as she stormed out of the room._

_Godo walked over to the door, "Fine! But if you leave now don't ever bother coming back!" He yelled before slamming the door loudly. Godo sighed exasperatedly, "I've always tried my best to do right by that girl!" Godo snapped half to himself, "especially after her mother died, but all Yuffie ever did was fight me at every corner!"_

"_Yuffie is young and can be very rash," Vincent stated calmly. "She can say things that she doesn't mean, I'll find her and try to talk some sense into her."_

_Godo said nothing but he merely sighed in frustration before nodding, Vincent left Godo's room and made his way out of the manor bowing politely to the maid as she opened the front door for him. __"Yuffie!" Vincent called out the ninja's name as he searched the entire town for her, as he walked through Wutai he stopped in front of the Da Chao Mountain. __"Well this is the last place in town to look," Vincent stated as he started to walk up the mountain path. "Maybe she's up there."_

_Vincent traversed up the mountain path and searched the cave but Yuffie wasn't there, eventually Vincent reached the top of the mountain and saw Yuffie stood near the edge looking out. "Yuffie," Vincent called out to the young woman as he walked over to her, Yuffie turned round when she heard her name being called and she saw Vincent stood behind her._

"_What do you want?" Yuffie questioned as she stared at Vincent._

"_I came to see if you were ok," Vincent answered before Yuffie huffed._

"_Why do you care all of a sudden?" Yuffie demanded as she scowled at him. "You've spent the whole journey telling me how childish you think I am and calling me names!"_

"_Well you are hyperactive and stealing our Materia was childish," Vincent explained. "But that doesn't mean I want to see you upset."_

"_Right…" Yuffie replied skeptically as she turned away from Vincent._

"_It's the truth," Vincent stated as he walked over to her and stood next to her. "It's quite a view from up here," he commented as he looked down at the town below._

"_Yeah," Yuffie agreed as she looked down. "After my mum died I used to come up here a lot…" Yuffie told Vincent, "it gave me time to think about things."_

"_Were you close to your mother?" Vincent asked._

"_Yeah," Yuffie answered as she nodded. "She was the calm parent, she stopped my father from going completely overboard…to be honest he hasn't been right since she died…"_

"_Why didn't you say anything before?" Vincent asked as he looked over at Yuffie._

"_You never asked," Yuffie responded as she turned round to look at Vincent and smiled weakly before looking up at the sky and she saw that it was starting to go dark and the moon shone brightly in the sky and Meteor glowed a fiery red colour. "Meteor actually looks beautiful in the night sky…" Yuffie remarked in a faraway voice causing Vincent to raise his eyebrow. "You know…in a creepy we're gonna die kind of way…" Yuffie added as she came to her senses and smiled at Vincent before sighing._

"_What's wrong?" Vincent asked his voice was filled with concern._

"_It's just that I can't believe that Meteor is gonna fall soon," Yuffie answered a hint of sadness in her voice as she moved away from the edge and started to pace round. "There was so much I wanted to do, so much Materia that's yet to be discovered…" Yuffie continued, "Plus I want to fall in love with a cute guy that loves me for who I am and not for who I'm related too…"_

"_Hey…" Vincent replied as he walked over to Yuffie and placed his hand on her shoulder causing her to look up at him. "You can still do all those things," he stated reassuringly. "We'll find a way to stop Meteor."_

"_It's not like you to be cheerful," Yuffie commented as she smiled at him and turned around to face him. _

"_Well I guess I decided to take a different outlook on life," Vincent answered as he smiled at her._

_Yuffie sighed as she looked up into Vincent's eyes, "this could be my last chance," Yuffie thought to herself. "I have to tell Vincent the truth before it's too late…"_

_Yuffie sighed again, "Vincent…" Yuffie started to say._

"_Yes…" Vincent replied as he looked into Yuffie's eyes._

"_Vincent…I know we both got off on the wrong foot when we first met and I made it worse when I stole everyone's Materia…" Yuffie stated talking quickly because of her nervousness. "And I know that you can be dark and brooding but…over time I…" Yuffie hesitated for a moment as she tried to think of what to say. "What I'm trying to say is…" Yuffie hesitated again, she sighed, "I love you…" Yuffie replied quickly as she closed her eyes half expecting Vincent to call her crazy. After a minute had gone by Yuffie opened her eyes and was surprised that Vincent hadn't done or said anything at all. "Vincent…" Yuffie questioned as she waved her hand in front of the dark man's face to see if he was still there._

"_You…love…me…" Vincent uttered the words slowly in shock at what Yuffie had said._

"_Yeah…" Yuffie answered as she continued to look at Vincent, Vincent wrapped both his arms round Yuffie's waist and pulled her close to him before kissing her passionately on the lips. Yuffie moaned before she moved her hands up to Vincent's long hair and stroked it as the two continued to kiss. After a while they both broke apart shocked but at the same time happy._

"_I love you too…" Vincent whispered in Yuffie's ear, Yuffie smiled before she kissed Vincent again and the two fell back on to the floor as they continued to kiss long into the night. _

_The next morning Yuffie woke up, she looked down and saw that she was being covered by Vincent's red cape. She looked to her right and saw Vincent lay next to her asleep his arm was wrapped round her, Yuffie smiled not wanting the moment to end. She sighed happily, "I never want this moment to end…" Yuffie stated to herself._

_Yuffie heard a moan next to her and she looked right to see that Vincent had woken up, "morning," Vincent stated as he smiled at Yuffie._

"_Morning…" Yuffie replied back as she smiled back at Vincent. "Last night was just…wow…" Yuffie continued as she kissed Vincent._

"_Yeah…" Vincent agreed, "but I'm pretty sure your father will be wondering where we've got to."_

"_Hah…" Yuffie laughed, "I've been pulling the old running away trick for years and it's taken him days to know…"_

"_YUFFIE!" A voice yelled suddenly causing Vincent and Yuffie to turn round and see Godo stood there._

"_DAD!" Yuffie yelled in panic as she pulled Vincent's cape all the way up to her chin._

"_So this is what you've been up to last night was it?" Godo demanded as he glared at Yuffie and Vincent._

"_We weren't up to anything!" Yuffie denied vehemently as she scowled at her father._

"_Then explain why your clothes are currently defacing our sacred mountain…" Godo demanded as he pointed all over the place. Yuffie and Vincent sat up and saw their clothes scattered all over the place._

"_Errrrrr…" Yuffie uttered trying hard to think of what to say._

"_I want the two of you to get dressed and then we're going to have a little talk," Godo ordered in a calm but serious manner before he turned his back on the two. _

_Vincent and Yuffie got up and started to gather their clothing, after a few minutes they were fully clothed. "Ok dad we're decent now," Yuffie told Godo and he turned round to face them._

_For a couple of moments Godo said nothing, he merely stared at Yuffie and Vincent piercing them with his cold eyes. He breathed deeply thinking of what he was going to say, "What were you two playing at?" Godo demanded trying his best remain calm._

"_Nothing…" Yuffie lied through her teeth._

"_It didn't look like nothing," Godo retorted seeing through Yuffie's lie. "You and Vincent didn't return to the manor last night I came up here and found your clothes scattered all over the place…don't tell me you two…"_

"_Mr. Kisaragi…" Vincent started to say but Godo held a hand up to silence him._

"_Save it…" Godo interrupted Vincent, "Yuffie there are plenty of respectable Wutinian men that are available," Godo informed Yuffie._

"_You mean all those suitors you've tried to set me up with!" Yuffie yelled at Godo, "men who were only interested in my rank and wealth…"_

"_Out of anyone you could've chosen…why him?" Godo demanded not taking his eyes off Yuffie._

"_Because I love him!" Yuffie blurted out, "he's the first guy I've met that loves me for me not for how rich I am or who I'm related to."_

"_It's true," Vincent agreed with Yuffie as he wrapped his arms round her. "It's thanks to Yuffie that I was finally able to let go of my feelings for Lucrecia."_

"_So you're on the rebound…" Godo stated._

"_That's not it at all…" Vincent tried to reason with Godo._

"_I won't have you use my daughter!" Godo yelled causing Yuffie to storm up to Godo and slap him._

"_Vincent isn't like that!" Yuffie screamed at Godo who stood there staring at Yuffie in shock while trying to keep as dignified as possible. "I love him, he loves me get used to it!" Yuffie continued to rant at her father, "and stop trying to control my life! I am my own person and I'm capable of making my own decisions! I'll choose who I fall in love with, not you!"_

_For a while there was silence and Vincent and Godo stood there staring at Yuffie too shocked and stunned to speak. Vincent looked at Yuffie and when he saw her savagely wild look he knew that she appeared different to the immature girl he had first met. "Maybe she's finally matured…" Vincent thought to himself._

_Yuffie breathed deeply her face was bright red, Godo sighed as he still tried to maintain his dignity. "Yuffie…can I talk to you alone?" Godo requested trying his best not to raise his voice._

"_Anything you have to say to me you can say it front of Vincent," Yuffie demanded stubbornly as she folded her arms. _

"_This is something I need to discuss with you in private…" Godo uttered through gritted teeth._

_Yuffie sighed irritably, "fine…" she gave in._

"_I'll call Cid, get him to pick us up," Vincent stated as he took his mobile out of his pocket and started to walk down the mountain._

_Godo waited until Vincent was out of earshot, "before you say it me and Vincent are an item now and there's nothing you can do about it…"_

"_I know…" Godo replied, "I suppose I have been a little hard on you over the years…I only did what I thought was best. But it had the opposite effect, you became more rebellious over the years." Godo explained._

"_I'm not a little girl anymore," Yuffie told Godo. "You can't control my life forever."_

"_I know, I actually wanted to talk to you about something else," Godo stated._

"_What?" Yuffie questioned her anger was replaced by curiosity._

"_I know I can't change your mind about going to stop this Sephiroth so I wanted to give you this," Godo told Yuffie as he held out a piece of red Materia._

_Yuffie took the Materia and she heard a low rumbling growl coming from it, "is this…" Yuffie started to ask as Godo nodded._

"_It's Leviathan," Godo stated, "Normally you would've had to have beaten all five Pagoda masters to obtain it." Godo continued, "But I decided to break from tradition this once, be sure to treat it with respect."_

"_Thanks, I will," Yuffie promised as she put the Materia in her pouch and smiled at Godo._

"_You said that your friends have Materia, right?" Godo asked not taking his eyes off Yuffie._

"_Yeah, loads," Yuffie answered._

"_Well I don't think they'll need the Materia once they save the world," Godo stated. "I want you to promise me that you'll bring the Materia here after you've finished saving the world."_

_Yuffie thought about this for a while before nodding, "sure no problem," Yuffie replied as she smiled at Godo._

"_You should return to your…boyfriend," Godo told Yuffie._

_Yuffie nodded before she walked off down the mountain, she found Vincent stood at the base of the mountain he had just hung up on his phone. "Cid said he'll be here soon," Vincent informed Yuffie. "What did your father want to talk to you about?"_

"_Just stuff," Yuffie answered vaguely._

"_Sounded important to me," Vincent remarked as he looked up at Yuffie. "Too important for me to hear."_

"_It was just a father/daughter talk you know," Yuffie told Vincent not wishing to tell him what the conversation was really about._

_Vincent walked over to Yuffie and hugged her, "you do know you can tell me anything, right?" Vincent told Yuffie._

"_Yeah I know," Yuffie responded. "But there's nothing to tell."_

_Vincent was about to respond when his phone rang, Vincent released Yuffie and answered his phone. "Hello…" Vincent spoke down the phone._

"_Vincent, just thought I'd let you know that I'm outside the town," Cid informed Vincent. "So hurry up and bring the walking puke factory with ya."_

"_Hey!" Yuffie yelled as she heard what Cid said._

"_I think she heard you," Vincent stated down the phone._

"_I don't care if she heard me it's the damn truth!" Cid yelled down the phone, "just get your sorry asses here!" Cid shouted again before he hung up._

_Vincent put his phone away before looking back at Yuffie, "we should get going before he starts to get impatient." Vincent told Yuffie._

"_Fine…but if he calls me names again I'm gonna punch him," Yuffie told Vincent as the man laughed. The two walked off and left Wutai and saw the Highwind just outside the town._

"_'Bout time you two got here!" Cid yelled from the deck as he threw the rope ladder down, "hurry up I just got a call from Zack telling me to pick him and Aerith up from Gongaga!"_

"_Alright don't get your knickers in a twist," Yuffie retorted as she and Vincent climbed the rope ladder. Once the two were on board Cid pulled the rope ladder up and he went inside the airship, Yuffie and Vincent followed him and soon the Highwind was airborne again._

_(End flashback)_

* * *

Vincent kissed Yuffie on the back of the neck, "I could never forget last night," Vincent told Yuffie.

Yuffie smiled, "good," she stated happily.

"You still didn't tell me what your father said to you," Vincent brought the subject up again.

"He just wanted to tell me something, and to give me this," Yuffie answered as she held up a red Materia.

"Summon Materia…" Vincent uttered as he stared at the glowing red orb.

"It's Leviathan," Yuffie told Vincent. "This Materia has been a part of my culture for centuries and my father entrusted me with it."

"I see…" Vincent stated as he nodded to show that he understood.

"You could've given it to Aerith you know," Vincent told Yuffie.

"I know, but my father would feel better knowing that I was holding on to it." Yuffie replied before she put it away.

"We should head back inside," Vincent changed the subject before he and Yuffie went into the airship.

Meanwhile Zack was in his and Aerith's room breathing deeply when Aerith walked out of the en suite bathroom and walked over to him. "Are you ok?" She asked as she wrapped her arms round his neck.

"Yeah," Zack answered as he smiled at her. "Just nervous…I mean the fate of the world is in our hands, if we beat Sephiroth and stop Meteor then the world is saved but…if we fail…the entire world suffers the consequences of our failure…"

"We won't fail," Aerith reassured Zack.

"You sound optimistic," Zack remarked as he turned his head round to look at Aerith.

"Well someone has to be," Aerith commented as she smiled.

"I guess so," Zack agreed before he stood up and walked over to his katana which was resting against the wall. He picked it up and tied it to the smaller belts that were connected to the main belt, "we've got a long fight ahead of us, are you sure you're up to it?" He asked as he looked back at Aerith.

"Of course," Aerith answered as she nodded. "I want to save the planet from Sephiroth and Meteor, besides…" she stated as she walked over to Zack and kissed him on the lips. "With you there beside me I'll be fine."

"I know," Zack replied, "just stay close to me and don't go off on your own this time."

"I won't," Aerith promised. "This time we defeat Sephiroth and Meteor together, with our friends."

Zack smiled and was about to kiss Aerith when Cid's voice suddenly echoed through the intercom, "Alright you scurvy dogs we're at the Northern Crater so look alive!" Cid yelled through the intercom.

"We should get going," Zack stated as he and Aerith left their room and walked down the corridor towards the bridge.

"I really wish he wouldn't insult us," Aerith complained, "It really offends me."

"I know," Zack responded as they neared the bridge. "But Cid is just a foul mouthed, chain smoking, grumpy…" Zack stopped as he and Aerith entered the bridge and Cid scowled at him.

"Well at least I'm never gonna suffer from scale rot!" Cid retorted still glaring at Zack.

"Ouch…" Zack responded as he glared back at Cid, "there's no need to get offensive."

"I could hear ya," Cid stated, "and since I'm the mug that's flying everyone round the world it would be nice to be appreciated a little more."

"We do appreciate you Cid," Aerith told the pilot. "But we don't like it when you insult us over the intercom."

"That's just my way," Cid defended himself. "If you don't like it you can always jump."

Aerith sighed but she couldn't say anything else as everyone else had arrived on the bridge, after a while the whole group was there. "Everyone ready?" Cloud asked the group as they all nodded.

"I'll try and get her in as gently as I can," Cid told the group as he carefully lowered the airship into the crater. After a few minutes the Highwind had landed safely at the top of a canyon, "everyone out to the deck," Cid commanded as the group left the bridge and arrived on the deck where a crew member was waiting for them.

The crew member threw the rope ladder down and saluted when he saw the group, "good luck," the crew member told the group as he continued to salute. "We'll be routing for you."

"Thank you," Aerith replied kindly as she bowed her head to the crew member.

"This is it," Cloud stated as he looked down at the canyon. "There's no going back now."

Tifa walked over to Cloud and placed her hand on his shoulder, "we don't intend to go back," Tifa reassured him. "We're all in this together and that's how we'll finish it."

Cloud looked at Tifa and smiled at her, "thanks Tifa, everyone," he thanked the group.

"Well we ain't gonna defeat Sephiroth standin' around here," Barret stated. "Let's go," he added as he climbed down the ladder. The group followed him one by one and soon they were on the ground.

"Before we go, Reeve said he had some news for you," Cait Sith spoke up from Zack's shoulder before static emitted from the robotic cat.

"I'm glad I caught you before your epic battle," Reeve's voice spoke from Cait Sith's mouth. "I just thought I'd let you know that the evacuation process of Midgar has begun."

"Sounds logical considering that Midgar appears to be Meteor's main target," Red stated.

"Indeed," Reeve agreed with the beast, "the remaining soldiers and the Turks have been assigned the task, but as of yet there is no sign of the president."

"Well Weapon did blow up his office," Zack reminded Reeve. "He's probably buried under the debris."

"You may be right," Reeve replied, "I'll have the Turks look into it. Good luck with Sephiroth, we're all counting on you," Reeve told the group before static formed again.

"No pressure…" Zack muttered as he rolled his eyes.

"Let's go," Cloud commanded. "Let's end this," the group started to walk down the spiral path which led deeper and deeper into the Planet.

"Wow…this must lead all the way to the Planet's core," Aerith remarked as she looked at the cave walls which were stained green due to the constant Life Stream activity. "This cave looks so beautiful…"

"Yeah, and Sephiroth's right at the core," Zack added.

"You really do know how to ruin a moment," Aerith remarked as she smirked at Zack.

"Guys, we don't have time for this!" Cloud snapped at the two, "We have less than twenty four hours to defeat Sephiroth and stop Meteor."

"Lighten up Cloud," Tifa told the man.

"Can we just get to Sephiroth?" Cloud demanded as he quickened his pace. The group continued to go down through the cave fighting numerous monsters as they descended. Eventually the group came to a fork in the road.

"The path has split," Red remarked as he looked both left and right.

"But which is the quicker path?" Yuffie questioned.

"I'm not sure," Vincent answered. "But the paths probably lead to the same point, maybe we could split up and meet up later."

"What do you think Cloud?" Zack asked the blond haired man.

"Hmmm…" Cloud thought about it, "We don't know which one is the right path so we should split up," Cloud told the group.

"Me, Yuffie, Barret and Cid will go down the right path," Vincent stated.

"The rest of us will go down the left path," Cloud told the others.

"Good luck," Cid told his other companions.

"Be careful," Yuffie added.

The two groups said their goodbyes before they went their separate ways, Vincent's group went down the right path as Cloud's group went down the left path. Cloud's group soon found themselves at another split, "another fork in the road," Red remarked as he looked at the two new paths. "Should we go up or down?" He asked.

"Looks like we might have to split up again," Zack answered as he looked at the two paths.

"Right," Cloud agreed, "Zack, you take Aerith and Cait Sith with you."

"Right," Zack replied, "which path?"

"You choose," Cloud answered.

Zack thought for a while, "We'll take the path that leads down," he finally told Cloud.

"Ok, me, Tifa and Red will go up," Cloud replied. "Maybe we'll see you at the other side."

"Be careful," Aerith told Tifa.

"You too," Tifa responded as the two women hugged.

The two groups then went their own separate ways, when Zack, Aerith and Cait Sith left the tunnel they found themselves at the top of a rocky canyon. "This place is very rocky…" Aerith uttered nervously as she looked down. "Are you sure it's safe?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Zack reassured the Cetra. "We'll take it slow ok." He added as he reached his hand out to Aerith.

"Ok," Aerith replied as she grabbed hold of Zack's hand and the two traversed their way through the rocky canyon fighting monsters and picking up items along the way.

Eventually the three reached the end and emerged in a circular chamber with a giant hole in the middle. "We made it," Zack stated happily, "that wasn't too bad."

"Yeah," Aerith agreed, "I hope the others made it," she added as the three made their way to the centre where they saw Cid, Vincent, Yuffie and Barret waiting for them.

"About time you guys got here!" Yuffie yelled at them.

"How long were you plannin' on keepin' us waitin'?" Cid added.

"Where are Cloud, Tifa and Red?" Vincent asked.

"They took another path," Zack answered, "they should be here soon."

After a few minutes Cloud, Tifa and Red arrived, "good, everyone made it," Cloud stated with relief.

"We picked up a few items along the way," Barret told Cloud. "Not sure if any of it will be useful though." Yuffie walked up to Cloud and gave him the items.

"Thanks," Cloud replied gratefully as he put them away and the group looked down the hole to see countless platforms floating and the walls oozing with Life Stream energy.

"How far down do you think that goes?" Zack asked as he looked at the others.

"All the way to the Planet's core," Aerith answered as she shivered.

"What's wrong?" Zack asked her, his voice was filled with concern.

"The Planet's energy is so strong here," Aerith stated worriedly. "Sephiroth could be using the boundless energy to boost his power."

"We need to beat him as quickly as possible then," Zack replied. "Cloud, what should we do now?"

"It wouldn't make sense for all of us to go down," Cloud answered as he examined the platforms. "Some of us should clear a path first."

"I'm not goin' down there!" Yuffie yelled as she backed away, "at least, not until a path is cleared!"

"She does have a point," Vincent agreed with Yuffie as he looked down and saw monsters on the platforms.

"Cloud, Zack! Get your spiky asses down there!" Barret yelled at the two men causing them both to scowl at him.

"Why are we the ones that have to do the dirty work?" Zack complained.

"Quit ya complainin' lizard breath and get down there and kill all the monsters!" Cid snapped at Zack.

"It looks like we don't have any other choice…" Cloud said with a sigh.

"Wish us luck," Aerith added cheerfully before she, Tifa, Cloud and Zack jumped down the hole and landed on the first platform. They jumped down to the next platform and engaged in a fight with a monster, however the monster wasn't that much of a challenge for the group and they easily defeated it. They jumped from platform to platform fighting any monster that attacked them.

Eventually they landed on a large platform and looked around, "it's quiet here…" Zack uttered as he scratched his head.

"Too quiet…" Cloud added as he and the group started to walk to the centre of the platform. The group heard a whooshing sound and looked around for the source of the sound.

"What was that?" Tifa questioned as she along with her comrades withdrew their weapons.

Something blurry flew past them before a woman's head and torso with two large tentacles attached to the torso landed in front of the group. "JENOVA…" Aerith uttered as she stared at the floating head in shock.

"So we've got to fight this thing to get to Sephiroth…great…" Zack muttered as he rolled his eyes.

"It's not like we have any other choice…" Aerith spoke up as the group pointed their weapons at JENOVA, the monster screeched before flailing her tentacles.

Tifa and Zack charged at JENOVA aiming for the central area however the tentacles moved slightly inwards and knocked Tifa and Zack away. Fortunately their quick reflexes kicked in and they landed safely on their feet, "damn…" Zack cursed as he and Tifa dodged the tentacles again, "she's gotten stronger since last time…"

"We should focus on the tentacles first," Aerith stated as she scanned the enemy closely.

"Easier said than done…" Tifa uttered as she grabbed one of the tentacles with her hands as it swung at her.

"How are we supposed to get them when they keep swinging at us all the time?" Zack added as he dodged out of the way of the other tentacle. He suddenly let out a yell as the tentacle wrapped itself round Zack's chest and arms and pulled tightly causing him to drop his katana.

"Zack!" Aerith yelled in shock and fear for Zack's life, she looked down at the katana, up at the tentacle constricting Zack and back at the katana again. Before anyone could do or say anything Aerith ran over to the katana, Jenova spat bio out at Aerith but Aerith quickly dodged it and grabbed the katana lying on the floor and she quickly swung at the tentacle holding Zack severing it from the torso and causing it to drop Zack. Jenova screeched and wriggled as she felt the tentacle get cut off. Zack coughed as the severed tentacle loosened its grip on him making it easy for him to free himself from the tentacle. Aerith ran over to him, "are you alright?" She asked as she helped him up.

"Yeah…" Zack answered softly as he stared at Aerith in shock. "You saved me…"

"I thought I lost you once…I didn't want to lose you again," Aerith answered as she hugged him still holding on to the katana.

"I didn't even know you could use a katana…" Zack uttered both shocked and impressed at the same time.

"Neither did I…" Aerith replied shocked at herself, "but you were in trouble so I did what I could…"

"Guys I need help over here!" Tifa yelled as she was still holding on to the remaining tentacle.

Aerith gave Zack his katana back and the two ran over to help their friend, Cloud ran over to Tifa and cut the tentacle causing Jenova to screech and writhe in pain. Tifa released the remains of the tentacle and it fell to the floor. Jenova glared at the group and her eyes flashed as she cast a bio spell but Aerith quickly cast reflect on the whole group causing the spell to bounce back and hit Jenova however due to Jenova's high immunity she wasn't affected by the poison.

Jenova cast fire, followed by ice at the group but thanks to Aerith's reflect spell the spells bounced off the group and hit Jenova causing extensive fire and ice damage knocking her back slightly. The group saw their chance and Cloud, Zack and Tifa charged at Jenova while Aerith stayed back casting spells and providing support.

Tifa punched and kicked Jenova repeatedly causing extensive damage while Cloud used a blade beam attack. Zack swung his katana quickly causing sonic waves to zoom towards Jenova, each wave causing a substantial amount of damage and Aerith cast a wide variety of spells even going as far as casting the spells on her friends causing them to bounce off and hit Jenova. After a while the reflect spell wore off and Jenova cast a wind spell knocking the group away from her before her body glowed green. "That aura…" Aerith whispered to herself as she felt the sheer power of Jenova. "Guys, we must defeat her quickly!" Aerith warned her friends, "she's going to cast Ultima!"

"Ultima!" Zack questioned as he looked at Aerith.

"It's a very powerful spell," Aerith answered, "But it takes a while to charge…we must defeat her now before the spell becomes fully charged."

Cloud, Tifa and Zack nodded to show that they understood and all three of them charged at Jenova again. Tifa performed a somersault while Zack and Cloud hacked away at Jenova, Jenova's body glowed an even brighter shade of green, Zack saw this and placed his hand on the katana blade, his hand glowed blue as it was imbued with ice and the ice went from his hand to the sword. Zack ran at Jenova and thrust the katana right into Jenova's torso and into its heart freezing the heart and the whole body, Tifa kicked Jenova's body hard shattering the monster into billions of pieces.

The group breathed deeply and sighed with relief, "finally…we got rid of Jenova," Cloud stated with relief. However the group's reprieve didn't last long as the ground beneath them started to crack before it dissolved causing the group to fall into the endless abyss.

As the group fell they saw that they were falling towards a ball of light, "that light…" Aerith uttered as she stared at it mesmerized. "Is it…Holy?"

"I think so…" Zack uttered as he too stared at the light. "It's fighting to get through…"

"I hope it does…"Tifa added.

Cloud was about to say something reassuring to Tifa but before he could the group landed on something hard. "Ouch…" Cloud uttered as he moaned and looked around for his friends.

"Damn man, that really fuckin' hurt!" Cloud heard a familiar voice curse loudly, he looked around and he saw that all of his friends were lying on a platform that was even larger than the one they were previously on. "Guys!" Cloud yelled glad to see his friends again, "how did you get down here?"

"Not sure…" Barret replied as he looked over at Cloud, Tifa, Zack and Aerith. "We were waitin' at the top…we were surrounded by a bright light and when we woke up we found ourselves here."

Before Cloud, Tifa, Zack or Aerith could respond the group was suddenly lifted up into the air. "What's happening?" Yuffie yelled as she struggled wildly.

"I…I can't move…" Red uttered.

"Neither can I…" Cid added, "Damn…and I really need a smoke too…"

Aerith scowled at the pilot when she heard this but given the current situation decided not to say anything. The group continued to scream and struggle but it was cut short when they heard the sound of evil laughter and Sephiroth appeared in the middle of the group. "Sephiroth!" Zack yelled as he tried to attack Sephiroth but he couldn't move.

"I'm impressed that you've all made it this far," Sephiroth spoke in his usual manner as he smirked at the group. "But this is as far as you'll get, I won't let you get in the way of my plans."

"We won't let you destroy the Planet!" Aerith yelled at Sephiroth as she continued to struggle before eventually breaking free of Sephiroth's hold and floated towards the ground.

Everyone including Sephiroth stared at Aerith in shock, "how did you break free…" Sephiroth uttered as he gave Aerith a questioning look.

"I'm stronger than you think Sephiroth," Aerith answered as she glared at the man and for the first time in her life she felt true hatred. "We all are," Aerith added as she looked up at her friends. "We won't let you kill all those innocent people!"

"She's right," Zack stated as he looked at the others. "We can't give up now, not after coming this far." Zack too was able to break free from Sephiroth's hold and landed next to Aerith. "I stand by my promise Aerith, I'll fight by your side, even if I die fighting, I'll know that it was for a just cause!"

Taking strength from their comrades' words the rest of the group broke free of Sephiroth's grip and landed on the ground taking out their weapons and getting into fighting stances. "You're losing your touch Sephiroth," Cloud told the silver haired man as he stared up defiantly at him. "We're not gonna give up now, I caused this and I'm gonna put a stop to it, we all are."

"We're a team," Zack added as he held on tightly to his katana. "And we're stronger than you give us credit for, we'll beat you, even if we die trying our deaths won't be in vain!"

"The future is everyone's!" Aerith shouted as her eyes glowed brightly. "You have no right to take that away! As the last of the Cetra race it is my duty to protect this planet and those that live on it and if that means destroying you…THEN SO BE IT!"

Sephiroth merely laughed, "So you've come along way from the shy, quiet girl you were when we first met," he commented as he slowly floated down to the ground. "Very well, have it your way," he added as he landed gracefully on the ground next to the group. A black feathered wing protruded from his right shoulder and he summoned Masumame and held it out in front of him with both his hands. "The dawn of a new age will begin with your demise!"

With a yell Sephiroth charged forwards and swung his sword at Cloud but the blond haired man quickly blocked the attack with his own sword and the two swords clashed against each other until Sephiroth kicked Cloud away. Tifa charged at Sephiroth, "this is for my father and everyone you've killed!" Tifa yelled as she aimed a kick at Sephiroth but the silver haired man reached out and grabbed her foot.

"I think you need a time out," Sephiroth retorted as he threw Tifa causing her to slam into Cloud knocking them both off balance.

Zack transformed into his drag human form and ran at Sephiroth his claws glowed red as he charged fire into them. Sephiroth quickly turned and swung his sword at Zack, but the drag human quickly parried with his claws causing the blade of Sephiroth's sword to glow red. The two traded blows but Sephiroth was much too strong and slashed him in the side before knocking him to the ground. Zack moaned as he tried to stand but Sephiroth placed a boot clad foot on Zack's chest and pointed his sword at Zack's neck. "Now to finish what I failed to finish five years ago," Sephiroth stated as Zack struggled to get Sephiroth off him. "I'm going to kill you and your girlfriend."

Sephiroth lifted his sword up and was about to kill Zack with it when a fire spell hit him in the back of the head. He turned round and saw Aerith stood there her arm still thrust out in front of her and her eyes were still glowing with anger. Zack moaned as he staggered slowly to his feet and clenched his hand over the wound, Sephiroth advanced towards Aerith and was about to stab her when a red blur ran passed Sephiroth causing him to stagger back. The blur skidded to a stop and Red stood in front of Aerith and growled at Sephiroth.

Spehiroth ran at Red dragging his sword along the ground causing sparks, Red jumped and charged at Sephiroth however Sephiroth was much too strong for the beast and slashed him across the chest causing him to fall to the ground wounded. "Red!" Aerith yelled as she ran over to her friend, "curaga!" She uttered the incantation as the wound glowed green before healing completely.

"Thanks," Red replied gratefully as he leapt to his feet and rejoined the battle.

Aerith then ran over to Zack who was still stood there holding his side, Aerith quickly healed Zack's wound. "Are you ok?" She asked him her voice was filled with concern.

"Yeah," Zack answered as he nodded. "Thanks…"

"You're welcome," Aerith responded as she smiled at Zack. "We should help the others," she added before the two rejoined the battle.

Sephiroth moved in all directions as Barret opened fire at him, Sephiroth smirked as he appeared in front of Barret causing the man's eyes to go wide with shock before Sephiroth punched him hard in the gut sending him flying. Several more gunshots fired at Sephiroth and the silver haired man looked up to see a grey and black skinned gargoyle like creature with yellow eyes and wearing a red headdress and golden gauntlets and greaves with a blue glow emitting from its chest and holding a gun. (**A/N: This is Vincent's Chaos form from Dirge of Cerberus.**)

Sephiroth fired several spells at the creature but it dodged the spells while opening fire with the gun, one of the bullets hit Sephiroth in the arm. Sephiroth soundlessly looked down at his arm to see that it was bleeding slightly, he glared at the creature before firing a powerful lightning spell at it causing it to fall to the ground and disappear leaving Vincent in its place. Sephiroth heard a yell and he turned around to see Yuffie running along the wall throwing several kunai at Sephiroth but he easily blocked them causing them to bounce back at Yuffie but the ninja quickly dodged them and threw her giant shuriken at Sephiroth. Sephiroth knocked it away with his sword causing it to cut through Yuffie's shirt pinning her to the wall.

Cid let out a loud yell as he leapt at Sephiroth with his spear but Sephiroth quickly grabbed the spear and swung Cid round before throwing him to the ground and throwing the spear at his feet. "Pathetic…" Sephiroth uttered as he stared at the group who were trying to catch their breath, Yuffie had managed to free herself from the wall and fell to the floor. Sephiroth rose into the air, "now to finish you off…SUPERNOVA!" Sephiroth yelled the last part as a protective barrier formed round him and the group felt the ground shake as a few thousand light years away a Meteor appeared and destroyed the planets of the Solar System one at a time. Aerith knelt down the on the ground and clasped her hands as she muttered a few words of prayer and her body glowed gold before the bodies of her friends glowed the same gold colour. At that moment a large orange light started to plummet towards the Planet, towards the group. Aerith started to sweat as she continued her prayer before the ball landed on the group and exploded.

The protective barrier around Sephiroth disappeared and he landed gracefully on the ground and smirked. However once the fire and smoke from the explosion disappeared Sephiroth was shocked to see that whole the group had survived the blast unscathed and their previous wounds were completely healed. Aerith smirked as she looked up at Sephiroth and the golden glow around her and her friends disappeared. "Impossible…" Sephiroth uttered as he glared at the group, "you shouldn't have survived that…"

"You underestimated us Sephiroth…" Cloud told the man as the rest of the group stood up. "You just don't get it at all…"

"This is the true power of the Cetra," Aerith added as she continued to smirk at Sephiroth. "And it was the need to protect my friends that have awakened them…"

Sephiroth laughed at this, "you can't defeat me…your planet will be nothing but a pile of ruble that I can mould to my image."

"That attack looks like it's taken a lot out of him," Zack commented, "We need to attack him now!"

"Right," Everyone replied in unison before they charged at Sephiroth from all sides. Tifa launched into a vicious punching and kicking combo while Barret shot a giant ball of energy from his gun which struck Sephiroth. Zack flew over head creating water in his hands before spinning rapidly creating a giant water vortex which headed towards Sephiroth causing major damage. Yuffie threw several kunai at Sephiroth before launching into a long string of attacks with her shuriken. Red howled causing him to go berserk and attack Sephiroth none stop while Aerith fired several different spells at Sephiroth.

Yuffie then remembered the Materia that her father had given her and she used it, a protective barrier formed round her and her friends before the entire place was flooded with water and the mighty Leviathan emerged out of the water and roared before causing a giant tidal wave which smashed into Sephiroth causing heavy damage. Leviathan looked at the group before disappearing. Cid leapt into the air and his spear glowed as he stabbed it right into Sephiroth, Vincent transformed into Chaos and flew into the air and caused the ground underneath Sephiroth to rise and form the shape of a skull, dark energy poured out of the skull's eyes and mouth and struck Sephiroth before it sunk back into the ground causing extensive dark and earth damage to Sephiroth.

Cloud then ran at Sephiroth dragging his sword along the ground causing it to spark, he leapt into the air and his sword glowed before he stabbed his sword right into Sephiroth's chest and right into his heart. Sephiroth yelled in pain as blood gushed out of his body, Sephiroth glared up at Cloud as Cloud twisted his sword before pulling it out. Sephiroth fell to the ground and lay there lifeless in a pool of blood before disappearing into the Life Stream.

Before the group could even sigh with relief the ground below them began to shake as the platform slowly started to disappear. "The ground's disappearing!" Yuffie yelled as she pointed to the other side of the platform.

Aerith closed her eyes and her body glowed, the group disappeared in a flash of green light just as the entire platform disappeared. The group reappeared and found themselves back at the top of the core looking down, "how did we get back here?" Red questioned as he looked around.

The group looked down at Aerith who was sat on the floor slightly exhausted, "are you ok?" Zack asked as he helped Aerith up.

"I'm fine," Aerith answered as she kissed Zack. "I just used up too much power that's all…"

Cloud looked down the hole and smiled, "it's over…it's finally over…"

"Not quite laddie," Cait Sith spoke up as he leapt on to Red's back. "Reeve sent another transmission," he added as static formed round Cait Sith.

"I'm glad you all survived," Reeve told the group happily. "But unfortunately Meteor is still in the sky."

"What?" The group yelled at the same time.

"But…we defeated Sephiroth…" Zack told Reeve.

"I know," Reeve answered, "but it would seem that defeating Sephiroth wasn't enough."

"You mean we risked our lives for nothing!" Yuffie yelled as she glared at the cat.

"No," Reeve answered calmly. "But we haven't quite evacuated everyone yet, we could do with your help."

"But it'll take us a while to get to the Highwind from where we are," Cid informed Reeve. "Not to mention we have to take off…"

"I understand," Reeve stated, "but try to get here when you can."

"We'll try," Cloud promised Reeve.

"Thank you," Reeve replied gratefully before static formed and Reeve ended the transmission.

"Aerith," Cloud said the woman's name as he looked at her. "Can you do the same trick you did before?" He asked, "can you teleport us to Midgar?"

"Yes…" Aerith whispered, still exhausted. "But I've used up a lot of my power…so I can only teleport three people."

Cloud thought for a moment, "Zack, Yuffie, Vincent, you guys go." Cloud decided as he looked at the three.

"What about the rest of you?" Zack asked as he looked at his friends.

"We'll catch up with you," Cloud told Zack.

Zack, Yuffie and Vincent nodded before Aerith used the last of her power to warp the three of them before she passed out. "Aerith!" Tifa yelled as she ran over to her friend and lifted her head up.

"She must've used up the last of her power," Cloud stated as he looked down at Aerith. "One of us will have to carry her."

"I'll do it," Tifa offered as she slung the brown haired woman over her shoulder. Cloud nodded and the group were about to leave when Cloud collapsed to the ground holding his head. "Cloud!" Tifa yelled as she looked at the man as he fell unconscious.

Cloud woke up and looked around but couldn't find his friends, "where are my friends?" He uttered, as he continued to look around. He found the hole in the centre of the room and walked over to it, he looked down it and as if by instinct he jumped down it. Cloud fell down the hole and looked around him at the green covered walls and he saw the faint outlines of spirits in the green substance. As Cloud got nearer to the bottom he spotted Sephiroth and his eyes grew wide with shock. "Sephiroth…I killed you…"

Sephiroth merely smirked as he took out his sword, Cloud landed on the ground opposite Sephiroth and took his sword out. "You may have killed my body…" Sephiroth uttered as he smirked at Cloud, "but you can't destroy my spirit…"

"Spirit…" Cloud repeated the last word. "Then this is the spirit world…"

"That's right," Sephiroth answered. "And I'm even stronger here!" Sephiroth yelled as he charged at Cloud, Cloud barely managed to block Sephiroth's attacks and the two traded blows. After a while Sephiroth had Cloud backed into a corner causing the blond haired man to be strictly on the defensive.

"_Damn…if I keep this up he's going to kill me…" _Cloud thought to himself as he continued to parry Sephiroth's attacks.

"_So this is what passes for swordsmanship these days…" _A voice echoed throughout the area and time seemed to stand still.

Cloud looked around and he saw a man stood there wearing a SOLDIER Uniform and he had long black hair, "wait…" Cloud uttered as he recognized the man, "you're Angeal…Zack's mentor."

Angeal nodded, _"that's right," _he answered. _"I see you and Zack have put my sword to good use."_

"Sorry about that…" Cloud apologized.

"_Don't worry about it,"_ Angeal responded. _"I don't have a use for it, perhaps you could put it to full use."_

"I'm trying…" Cloud told the dead man, "But Sephiroth is just too strong…"

"_There is a very powerful sword technique that only the most skilled swordsmen know," _Angeal told Cloud. _"It's called Omnislash…I've never learned it and neither has Zack but maybe you can."_

"How?" Cloud asked the spirit.

"_Look deep inside yourself," _Angeal answered. _"Find your true strength and you should unlock it." _Angeal disappeared and time started up again.

Cloud closed his eyes and focused trying to find his inner strength, Sephiroth was about to run Cloud through with his sword but Cloud batted the sword away with his own and smirked at the silver haired man before his whole body and sword glowed. "OMNISLASH!" Cloud yelled as he ran at Sephiroth and slashed at him repeatedly, he was moving so fast that his body had become a blur.

After fifteen slashes Cloud landed on the ground and his body stopped glowing, he looked at Sephiroth who was stood there with numerous cuts. Sephiroth glared at Cloud before a white light pierced through him and he screamed before exploding in white light. Cloud breathed deeply and closed his eyes but his reprieve didn't last long as the ground below him shook, Cloud looked down and saw that the Life Stream was seeping through the cracks.

Cloud ran to the wall and started to climb up it, he lost his grip and almost fell but a hand reached down and grabbed him. Cloud looked up and saw Tifa hanging on to the edge, "Tifa…" Cloud uttered as he smiled pleased to see the woman.

Tifa smiled back but the rock she was holding on to broke and she fell, Cloud leapt up and caught her with one hand before grabbing the ledge with the other. "You…saved me…" Tifa uttered as she looked up at Cloud.

"Did I keep my promise?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah, you did," Tifa answered as she nodded before burying her head in Cloud's chest.

"Hey guys!" They heard a familiar voice shout, Cloud and Tifa looked up to see Barret and Aerith (now fully recovered) leaning over with their hands out stretched. Aerith helped Tifa up while Barret helped Cloud up and the two found themselves back at the top of the core again.

"Thanks," Cloud replied gratefully.

"What happened?" Aerith asked.

"I fought Sephiroth's spirit," Cloud answered. "He's gone now…"

The group didn't have time to comment as the ground started to shake violently, "the Life Stream's coming up," Aerith warned the group. "We must get out of here!" The group quickly ran out of the room as the Life Stream seeped through the hole and the group made their way back to the top of the canyon and eventually reached the Highwind and quickly climbed on board.

The group entered the bridge and Cid started to yell commands to the co-pilots, however the rock that the Highwind was resting on broke and the Highwind started to fall down the hole. "Shit! Hang on to somethin' quick!" Cid yelled to the group as he started to crawl to a lever. "I'm gonna activate the emergency thrusters!"

The group held on to whatever they could find and Cid managed to pull the lever causing two compartments of the airship to open and giant thrusters to emerge out of them and ignite propelling the Highwind upwards and out of the crater just as the Life Stream gushed out like a volcano. Everyone looked at the sight before the Highwind set off towards Midgar.

* * *

Meanwhile Zack, Yuffie and Vincent had arrived in Midgar and split up in order to help speed up the evacuation process. Zack was walking through Sector 1 where he came across Reno, Rude, Tseng and Elena evacuating the sector. "Come on move it!" Reno yelled as he ushered several frightened civilians.

"Everyone hurry and get to the transports which will take you to a safe location!" Elena added, she then looked over and saw Zack before scowling at him. "You!" Elena yelled as she ran over to Zack but Reno and Rude grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Easy Elena…" Reno spoke to the blonde haired woman in an effort to calm her down.

"But he hurt Tseng!" Elena yelled as she glared at Zack.

Zack sighed as his tail twitched, "I'm not gonna go through this again…" Zack uttered slightly annoyed. "It wasn't me…it was Sephiroth…"

"Yeah right!" Elena yelled as she struggled agains Reno and Rude's grip.

"It's the truth," Tseng stated as he limped over to them.

"Tseng…" Elena uttered as she stared at the man. "You shouldn't even be working…"

"This is more important…" Tseng answered.

"Typical workaholic…" Reno muttered as Rude chuckled.

Tseng glared at the two, "Elena, it was Sephiroth that injured me…please…compose yourself."

"I…I'm sorry…" Elena apologized.

"You can let her go," Tseng told Reno and Rude and the two men released Elena and the woman returned to work.

"You're not gonna capture me…" Zack questioned as he stared at the Turks.

"Hate to disappoint you Zacky boy but you're old news," Reno told Zack as he placed his hands behind his head.

"Old news…" Zack repeated not sure whether to take offence to it.

"We've got new orders now," Reno replied.

"Our orders were to evacuate the city," Rude added.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Zack asked relieved that there was no longer any animosity between them.

"Well Cissnei is evacuating people in those streets over there," Tseng told the drag human as he pointed at some streets heading towards the remains of the Shinra building.

"Cissnei's here..." Zack uttered in shock.

"Yes," Tseng answered. "We needed as much help as possible and Cissnei volunteered to help, we would appreciate it if you would lend her a hand."

"I'm on it," Zack stated as he nodded.

"Here, take this," Tseng replied as he threw a walkie talkie towards Zack. Zack caught it, "you can keep in contact with us."

"Thanks," Zack replied gratefully as he ran in the direction that Tseng pointed in. He saw several people unsure of where to go, "go that way," Zack told the people as he pointed them in the right direction. Several people ran screaming when they saw him, Zack sighed irritably. However a woman and two young children were huddled under a ruined building that was about collapse on them. "Look out!" Zack yelled as he ran towards them and grabbed all three of them before the building collapsed.

"Y…you saved us…" the woman uttered.

"Yeah," Zack replied.

"So you're not a monster…" the woman questioned.

"No," Zack answered as he shook his head. "Just find the Turks, they'll point you in the right direction." The woman nodded and led her two children in the direction that Zack had pointed in.

Zack ran further down the street where he heard a familiar female voice,"keep going that way,"

"That voice..." Zack uttered as he ran towards the voice. "Cissnei!" Zack called out the woman's name causing her to turn round and face him.

"Zack...is that you?" Cissnei questioned as Zack skidded to a stop in front of her.

"Yeah," Zack answered, "it's good to see you again Cissnei."

"I'm glad you're ok," Cissnei responded.

"It's strange seeing you in normal civilian clothing," Zack stated as he pointed at Cissnei's sleeveless shirt and jeans. "Tseng said you left the Turks," Zack continued as Cissnei nodded.

"Yeah," Cissnei stated as she guided a family to Tseng and the others.

"Why did you leave?" Zack asked.

"I don't think now's the best time to ask," Cissnei responded a hint of urgency in her voice.

"Which way do we go?" A man asked Zack in panic.

"Go that way," Zack answered as he pointed towards the Turks. "Cissnei...I was worried about you...I haven't seen you at all...I just wanted to know what happened to you...you owe me that much at least."

Cissnei sighed, "well I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you," Cissnei stated as she gave in.

"Why did you leave?" Zack repeated his earlier question.

"I left not long after you were recaptured," Cissnei explained as she continued to evacuate civilians. "I saw you in the medical room, you were in a pretty bad way..."

"Well being shot repeatedly does do that to you," Zack responded.

Cissnei sighed as she continued with her explanation, "anyway...I wanted to help you but..."

* * *

(Flashback)

_A whole day had passed since Zack was captured and was brought back to the Shinra building, Cissnei was stood outside the room that Zack was being help in. She looked through the window and saw much to her horror that a weakened Zack was being pinned down by 1st class SOLDIERs._

_"Let go of me!" Zack yelled in a panicked tone as he struggled against the SOLDIERs._

_"What are they doing to him in there?" Cissnei asked in fear as she ran over to the door, she was about to enter the room to help her friend when a hand reached out and grabbed her._

_"Cissnei, don't go in," a familiar voice warned her._

_Cissnei turned round and saw Tseng stood behind her, "Tseng...they're hurting him in there we have to do something!" Cissnei yelled a sense of urgency in her voice._

_"There's nothing we can do for him now," Tseng told Cissnei sadly._

_The two looked through the window to see Hojo stood over Zack as Hojo had injected him with something. "What is that monster injecting into him?"_

_"I don't know," Tseng answered as they saw Zack being injected with something else, the injured man moaned before passing out._

_"Take him to the labs," Hojo ordered as two SOLDIERs picked up Zack's unconscious body. "We'll begin with the experiments."_

_"Professor Hojo," one of Hojo's assistants spoke up. "Is it wise to be doing this so soon?"_

_"I know this specimen," Hojo answered as he looked at Zack_._ "If we let him recover fully_ _he'll find a way to escape before we can even experiment on him. It's better to start now while he's still weak. Now get him to the lab."_

_ Cissnei and Tseng moved out of the way as Hojo, his assistants and the SOLDIERs carrying Zack left the medical room and made their way to the labs. Cissnei sighed sadly as she watched her friend being carried away._

_"Tseng...I thought you had a plan..." Cissnei uttered as she stared at Tseng with tears in her eyes._

_"I was hoping to get Zack out of there once he was strong enough," Tseng answered sadly. "I wasn't counting on Hojo beginning his experiments so soon."_

_"I have to get him out of there..." Cissnei stated as she marched passed Tseng and made her way to the door._

_"I can't allow that," Tseg told Cissnei as he walked over to her. "It will be too risky."_

_"So we're gonna allow our friend to be experimented on by that maniac..." Cissnei uttered as she stared at Tseng in shock. "I can't believe you'll allow it..."_

_"Cissnei...I didn't want to bring him back to this building in the first place," Tseng admitted._

_"Then why did you?" Cissnei demanded as she glared angrily at Tseng._

_"I was surrounded by Shinra Infantrymen I had no choice but to bring Zack here," Tseng explained._

_"Well I have a choice and I'm going to get Zack out of there," Cissnei stated matter of factly before she stormed out of the room. Tseng sighed as he watched her go._

_A few hours later Tseng was in his office completing paper work when the door opened Cissnei entered. "Cissnei...how did it go?" Tseng asked as Cissnei walked over to Tseng's desk._

_"Not so well," Cissnei answered sadly. "I couldn't even get close to the lab...several guards stopped me."_

_"Cissnei...I know you're upset about Zack, I am too," Tseng stated sympathetically._

_"Tseng...I've been doing a lot of thinking and..." Cissnei started to say before sighing. "Zack tried to tell me that the Shinra were corrupt and that they would stop at nothing to get what they want...and...he was right...he discovered the truth and they tried to kill him for it..."_

_"Cissnei...Zack...knew the risks by going against Shinra..." Tseng told Cissnei which caused her to glare at him._

_"You don't honestly believe that do you?" Cissnei demanded._

_"No..." Tseng answered as he sighed. "But...he's alive I got to him in time."_

_"But he's now in the hands of Shinra who will do anything to silence him," Cissnei stated before sighing again and she paced round. "I've reached a decision...I'm leaving the Turks..." Cissnei told Tseng as the Turks leader stared at her in shock._

_"Why?" He asked._

_"Because I can no longer stand by and do nothing while the Shinra continues to use people for their own ends," Cissnei answered. "I can't help Zack...for the first time in my life I feel powerless and I can't stay here and watch as Hojo ruins his life...please...don't try and stop me..."_

_ For a few moments Tseng and Cissnei stared at each other and neither of them said nothing. Tseng sighed, "if it's really what you want then...I won't stop you," Tseng finally spoke breaking the awkward silence. _

_"Tseng..." Cissnei uttered as she stared at the Turks leader in shock._

_"All I ask is that you stay in touch," Tseng requested as he reached into his desk drawer and took out a mobile phone. "Take this," Tseng continued as he gave Cissnei the phone. "It's an unregistered mobile phone," Tseng explained to Cissnei as she put the phone into pocket. "All the Turks' phone numbers are already programmed into the phone, however your calls can't be traced by the Shinra."_

_"Tseng..." Cissnei started to say._

_"Don't say anything," Tseng cut in. "You just go and enjoy civilian life, I'll let you know how Zack's getting on and I'll find a way to get him out of here I promise."_

_"Ok...goodbye Tseng, tell Reno and Rude I said bye," Cissnei stated._

_"I will," Tseng replied as Cissnei walked to the door and left the office._

_Cissnei hung her head as she made her way to the entrance to the Shinra building, "I'm sorry I couldn't help you Zack," she thought sadly in her head. "I promise I will find a way to help you..." She continued to think in her head as she walked out of the Shinra building and out of her former life._

(End Flashback)

* * *

"So you left the Shinra because of me?" Zack questioned as he stared at Cissnei.

"Yeah," Cissnei added as she nodded. "I couldn't just stay there and watch Hojo experiment on you."

"So what did you do with yourself all this time then?" Zack questioned as him and Cissnei continued to evacuate the street.

"Well...I travelled round the world and I kept in touch with Tseng, Reno and Rude," Cissnei answered. "They told me that you had escaped and that you and your friends were hunting down Sephiroth, I wanted to help in anyway that I could."

Zack thought about this for a moment before it dawned on him where the mysterious letters came from. "Wait a minute, you sent those letters..."

"Yeah that was me," Cissnei admitted. "I didn't want you to know that it was me."

"Why not?" Zack questioned as he pointed a family in the right direction.

"I felt bad for not being able to help you when you really need it," Cissnei answered sadly. "I wanted to redeem myself by helping you out in secret."

"Cissnei...you left Shinra without saying goodbye..." Zack told the ex Turk. "I was worried about you, I was asking about you a lot."

"You were..." Cissnei asked as she stared at Zack in shock. "But...what about Aerith?"

"Aerith's fine...we're back together now...not that we'd split up in the first place she just believed that I was dead for five years."

"That's good...I'm really happy for you," Cissnei stated even though secretly she still harboured deep feelings for Zack.

"You'll find someone," Zack reassured Cissnei.

"You think so..." Cissnei uttered.

"Yeah," Zack responded as he nodded. "After all you're a very attractive woman."

"Thanks Zack, you always know what to say," Cissnei stated as she smiled. "Look...we don't have time to stand around talking...we have a city to evacuate and I haven't evacuated the other streets yet."

"Well...we better get a move on then," Zack added as he and Cissnei ran down the street and continued to evacuate the streets.

They carried on going until they reached what was left of the Shinra building, Zack and Cissnei looked at the debris. "The Shinra building," Zack remarked, "or what's left of it..."

Cissnei thought for a moment before getting a closer look at the debris. "Hmmm...well it's more than likely that the president's body is in this debris somewhere," Cissnei stated as Zack walked over to her.

"But Weapon caused the President's office to explode...which means Rufus is dead..." Zack added as he knelt down for a closer look. Zack sighed and scratched the back of his head when suddenly a hand reached out and grabbed his foot.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!" Zack yelled as he quickly leapt to his feet, he then looked down at the debris where the hand was and heard raspy breathing. "Cissnei! There's someone alive down there!" Zack yelled as he started to dig through the debris with his claws.

"Hold on...I'll help you," Cissnei responded as she too started to dig through the debris.

"Hang on we're gonna get you out of there!" Zack shouted to the person as he and Cissnei continued to dig until they saw the person, Zack and Cissnei looked at the person and were shocked to discover that it was Rufus. "Rufus…" Zack uttered in shock as he stared at the man that caused everyone so much misery.

Zack stood up and was about to leave when he heard Rufus moan.

"Zack...where are you going? He needs help!" Cissnei called out to Zack as she pulled Rufus out of the debris.

Zack stopped but he didn't turn round, "Cissnei...have you forgotten the pain and suffering this man has caused people?" Zack asked his friend.

"That doesn't matter now," Cissnei told Zack. "He needs help."

"No...what we should do is leave him to die..." Zack stated coldly causing Cissnei to stare at him in shock.

"Zack...this isn't like you..." Cissnei stated still in shock. It was true she hadn't seen Zack for a while but she always knew him as a kind, warm and sensitive man.

"I'm sorry...but I can't help a man who's made people's lives miserable...leave him Cissnei...let's spend our time saving people that deserve to be saved." Zack answered still with the same cold, emotionless tone.

"Zack!" Cissnei yelled as she stood up and walked over to Zack. "I know you've been through a lot, but you can't decide who lives and who dies!" Cissnei told Zack. "Zack...you can't just leave him there...this isn't like you..."

Zack's eyes grew wide with shock at the realisation of Cissnei's words. He knew that she was right...he was hoping to just leave Rufus to die as punishment for his company's sins but now he wasn't so sure, he sighed before turning round to face Cissnei. "You're right Cissnei..." Zack stated sadly, "this isn't like me...I don't usually wish death on people...I guess...I was so bitter at being experimented on that I completely forgot what kind of person I really am...thank you Cissnei."

Cissnei smiled at Zack, "you're welcome," Cissnei responded.

The two walked back to where Rufus was. Zack knelt down beside Rufus and he removed the cape from his trousers before wrapping it round Rufus to keep him warm. Zack then picked up the walkie talkie and pushed the button, "Tseng, it's Zack. Me and Cissnei found Rufus, he's still alive but he's badly injured." Zack told the Turk.

"Understood," Tseng replied, "we'll send the emergency services to pick him up."

"Right," Zack replied as he hung up on the walkie talkie, "come on Cissnei we better go to the other sectors," Zack told Cissnei.

"You go on ahead," Cissnei responded as she knelt down beside Rufus. "I better stay here with Rufus until the emergency services get here."

"Ok...I'll keep in touch with you on the walkie talkie," Zack informed Cissnei before he stood up, he changed into his drag human form.

"Good luck Zack," Cissnei stated as he smiled.

"You too," Zack responded before he opened his wings and flew off.

Meanwhile in Sector 8 Yuffie was carrying several people over her shoulder but she accidentally dropped someone. "Sorry," Yuffie apologized as she picked the person up and carried them over to a helicopter and put the people on. She then took her phone out, "Vincent, I've got 11 people out of here…I accidentally dropped someone but I managed to get them to the helicopter."

"Still as clumsy as ever," Vincent stated with a slight chuckle.

"Hey!" Yuffie yelled down the phone.

"But that's just one of quirks I love about you," Vincent added quickly.

"Good save," Yuffie told him.

"Listen, you need to find Zack and meet up with Cloud and the others." Vincent told Yuffie.

"What…but what are you gonna do?" Yuffie asked her boyfriend.

"There's something I need to take care of first," Vincent answered.

"What do you have to take care of?" Yuffie questioned. "Where are you?"

"I'm heading for the cannon," Vincent told Yuffie. "There's still someone there, but I'll catch up with you later."

"Wait…Vincent!" Yuffie yelled down the phone but the man had already hung up. Yuffie looked up at the cannon, "Vincent…get away from there!" Yuffie yelled, her voice was drowned out by a sudden gust of wind.

Vincent ran up the winding stairs of the cannon, the strong wind blowing his hair back. Just as Vincent was running up the stairs Zack was flying over Sector 8 when he saw the cannon and Vincent running up the stairs. "Huh…Vincent…what's he doing at the cannon?" Zack asked himself as he swooped down and landed at the top of the stairs just as Vincent ran up them.

"Zack, what are you doing up here?" Vincent asked the drag human as he stared at him.

"I could ask you the same question," Zack answered. "Where's Yuffie?"

"She's in Sector 8 evacuating everyone," Vincent told Zack. "I came up here because I sensed something."

"There's nothing here…" Zack stated as he and Vincent looked around and saw a de-mutated Hojo slumped in a chair near the control panel. "Except Hojo…but he's dead…" The two walked over to the computer terminal and saw that it was still active, "odd…it's still running…"

"So that's what I was detecting," Vincent replied as he saw a message saying 'start fragment program' on it.

"Fragment program…" Zack uttered. "Hmmm...Hojo must've been doing something before we killed him…but Meteor is disrupting it…Vincent…we must get out of here…"

"I need to destroy it first," Vincent told Zack as he started to type on the computer but Zack dragged him away.

"Come on!" Zack yelled as he dragged Zack to the edge of the cannon. "Meteor is gonna fall any minute we have to get away!"

They heard the sound of an engine and Yuffie flew over on a hover vehicle, "guys come on!" Yuffie called out to them as Vincent jumped off the edge of the cannon and landed on the hover vehicle behind Yuffie. Zack spread his wings out and jumped off the cannon and flew along side them.

"Thanks babe," Vincent whispered in Yuffie's ear as he held on tightly to her.

"Any time, babe…" Yuffie replied back as she smiled.

The three looked up and saw a bright white light engulfing Meteor, "is that Holy?" Zack asked as he looked at the light.

"I think so…" Yuffie uttered, "looks like it got through."

"Or maybe not…" Vincent added, "look…" he pointed at the white light and the three saw that Meteor was slowly poking through.

"Holy's failing…" Zack stated, he then remembered what Bugen Hagen had said. "Maybe the Planet decided that we were bad for it…"

"So this really is the end…" Yuffie added sadly.

The three heard the sound of an engine and saw the Highwind next to them, "get on!" Cloud called out to them as Yuffie landed the vehicle on the deck and Zack landed next to Aerith.

"Holy's not working," Zack told the group.

"We know," Cloud replied solemnly. "How did the evacuation go?"

"We got mostly everyone out," Yuffie answered. "But not everyone wanted to leave their homes."

"They don't want to leave their worldly goods behind…" Red stated. "I always thought humans were strange."

Aerith sighed sadly but then she had an idea, before anyone could say anything Aerith knelt down on the deck and closed her eyes. "Aerith…" Zack called out to her but she didn't answer.

"_Please…noble spirits…" _Aerith prayed, _"If you can hear me…please answer my prayer…help us destroy Meteor…help us protect the Planet…" _Aerith heard the Planet's answer and she opened her eyes to see the Life Stream seeping out of the ground and flowing towards Meteor completely surrounding it and engulfing it in a blinding white light.

* * *

Meanwhile in Sector 5 an elderly woman and a young boy were sat in their house huddled together waiting for Meteor to fall. They shielded their eyes when the whole house was engulfed in a white light causing the kitchen window to blow open. "What's happening?" The young boy asked.

"I'm not sure…but I have to close that window," the old woman answered. "Please stay in this room."

"But…" the boy started to protest.

"No buts," the old woman told him sternly. "Stay in here where it's safe." Without another word the woman ran into the kitchen and closed the door behind her.

The boy shielded his eyes to protect them from the glare and he heard the woman scream painfully, after a while the light faded and there was an awkward silence. The boy opened his eyes and was shocked to discover that he was still alive, he pulled the curtains open and looked at the sky to see that Meteor had gone. "Meteor's gone…" the boy uttered in shock. "We survived…" He then ran into the kitchen. "Mrs Tuesti!" The boy called out to the old woman but she didn't answer. "Mrs Tuesti!" He called again, he then saw the woman lying on the floor injured.

The boy helped her to the living room and helped her on to the sofa, the woman looked over and smiled at him. "We…survived…" she muttered weakly.

"Yeah," the boy told Mrs Tuesti as he took hold of her hand. "Meteor's gone."

"Good…" Mrs Tuesti replied as she squeezed the boy's hand. "You're a good boy and I wish you every luck for the future…"

"Mrs Tuesti are you going somewhere?" The boy asked confused at what she was saying.

"I'm not in any condition to go anywhere…" the woman answered as she looked at the boy. "But you should make a new life for yourself…"

"No…" the boy uttered, "I'm not going to leave you, I'll take care of you until you get better…I'll get you a blanket…" Before the woman could say anything the boy ran upstairs and got a blanket and he ran down the stairs. "Here you are Mrs…" the boy gasped as he saw Mrs Tuesti's lifeless corpse lying on the sofa, her body was covered in black blotches which oozed a black substance.

The boy dropped the blanket and walked over to Mrs Tuesti's body and cried, a little while later he took the body out into the back garden and buried it with several survivors helping him to bury the body before he went off with them.

Meanwhile on the Highwind the group was celebrating the destruction of Meteor, "You did it Aerith!" Zack yelled excitedly as he picked Aerith up and spun her round.

"I guess I did…" Aerith replied modestly.

"Don't be so modest," Tifa told the woman. "You really came through for us all…"

Aerith blushed at this and the Highwind landed on the hill over looking Midgar where they met Reeve, the Turks and Cissnei. "We got mostly everyone out of Midgar but with Midgar in ruins they have no where to go," Reeve informed the group.

"How's Rufus?" Zack asked.

"He's fine," Tseng informed him. "He's at a hospital in Junon."

"What's going to happen now?" Tifa questioned.

"We're going to build a new city near Midgar," Reeve answered. "Where the refugees can live."

"A new city, sounds exciting," Aerith stated as everyone nodded.

"It will be a perfect chance for everyone to make a fresh start," Cissnei told the group.

"What are you gonna do now Cissnei?" Zack asked his friend.

"Well..." Cissnei answered, "Reeve is planning to start an organisation to restore the Planet and he's asked me to help him."

"That's great Cissnei," Tifa stated as she smiled and nodded.

"Thank you," Cissnei replied gratefully.

"Oh and thanks for your help Cissnei," Cloud told the ex Turk.

"Huh..." Cissnei gave Cloud a blank stare.

"Zack told us that it was you that sent all those letters," Cloud answered.

"It was the least I could do to help," Cissnei stated as she smiled and nodded.

"It helped us a lot," Zack told his friend.

"Well we have a lot of work to do," Reeve told the group. "The first thing we need to do is to build a new city for the citizens of Midgar to live."

"We'll help," Cloud offered as Reeve nodded gratefully.

"I appreciate that," Reeve told the group as they found a spot to build the new city.

After a few days construction of the new city was under way and Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Zack and Aerith helped oversee its construction. Soon Tifa and Cloud had one of the newly built buildings converted into a bar which they named Seventh Heaven after the old bar in the Sector 7 slums.

The bar became a quick success with people coming in to have a few drinks and forget about their troubles. Zack and Cloud were sat at a table drinking pints and talking, "I guess now would be a good time to think about the future," Zack told his Cloud as he looked over at Aerith who was serving some customers, she looked over at him and smiled before returning to her work.

"I know what you mean," Cloud replied as he looked over at Tifa who was talking to some customers and Marlene who was helping Tifa clean up the bar. "Everyone's returned home, Barret's gone back to Coral to help rebuild it and Tifa's got this place." Cloud thought for a moment before he suddenly got an idea. "Hey, why don't we start a business of our own…?" Cloud suggested as he looked at Zack.

"You want to start a business…" Zack uttered as he took a sip of his pint.

"Why not?" Cloud answered as he smiled. "Any job, no matter how dangerous or boring…we're gonna be rich…remember…"

"Did I say that?" Zack asked as he looked at Cloud.

"Words to that effect," Cloud answered. "I was semi conscious at the time."

Zack thought about it, "sounds good, what did you have in mind?"

"Delivery service," Cloud stated.

"Delivery…" Zack repeated what Cloud said.

"Yeah," Cloud replied. "We get to travel and we'll be providing a service."

"Yeah…but we need vehicles and a place to run our operations," Zack told Cloud.

"I'll have a word with Tifa about the place and as for the vehicles I'll talk to Reeve," Cloud answered. "Come on, what do you say?"

"If Tifa agrees to it then yeah, I'm in," Zack replied.

"I'll be right back," Cloud told Zack before he stood up and walked off. Half an hour later he returned, "I spoke to Tifa and she's excited about it," Cloud informed Zack. "And I spoke to Reeve and he said he'll prepare a couple of custom made bikes for us."

"Nice," Zack replied as he smirked at Cloud.

Cloud smiled back, "Looks like Strife and Fair Delivery Service is open for business," Cloud stated as he and Zack clanged their glasses together.

* * *

**Four Months Later**

Four whole months had passed since the destruction of Meteor and the city that was affectionately called Edge by its residents was now complete and people were starting to get their lives back on track. However in Midgar there were still some people who were trying hard to get by, the people that refused to leave their homes. A young brown haired boy was walking through the ruins of Sector 5 alone since he fell out with one of his friends. He started poking round the debris with a stick to find dead rats to eat.

The boy sighed sadly to himself, this wasn't the kind of life he was imagining, he didn't want to be alone and he found himself getting scared. The boy carried on walking until he found himself at the ruins of the church and he saw what looked like a black coloured bike with a black trench coat hanging over it. The boy looked around before kicking several rocks in frustration, he walked over to the bike and rummaged through the coat pockets and he found a phone.

The boy opened the phone up and found several strange numbers, he decided to call a number at random and the phone rang. "Hello?" A woman spoke on the other side of the phone, "Zack are you there?"

"Errrrr…" The boy started to stumble on his words.

"Who is this?" The woman asked and she heard the sound of crying on the side of the phone. "Are you crying?" The woman asked, the boy didn't answer. "Are you ok?"

The boy hung up on the phone and put it back in the coat pocket and continued to cry before he collapsed on the ground and coughed up a thick black ooze. Frightened the boy quickly sat up and looked at his hands and saw black blotches on them. "What's going on?" The boy yelled in frustration, but his frustration was cut short as he heard several growls and saw a pack of mutated wolves advancing towards him.

The boy quickly stood up and moved away from the bike as the wolves surrounded him, one of the wolves leapt at the boy and he screamed and covered his eyes. He heard a roar and yelping and he opened his eyes to see a purple skinned humanoid monster holding one of the wolves in the air and bearing his fangs at the wolf before throwing it to the side. The other wolves leapt at the humanoid monster but he was too quick and strong for them he slashed several in the stomach before breathing fire at the last one causing the wolves to run off in fear.

The monster's claws receded and he walked over to the boy, "are you ok?" The monster asked as he reached a hand out to the boy.

"Stay away!" The boy yelled as he pushed the monster's hand away and staggered back.

"Easy…I'm not gonna hurt you," the monster reassured the boy. "I'm friendly…" The boy however wasn't convinced so the monster sighed before closing his eyes and reverted to his human form. "Is this better?" He asked the boy, the boy opened his eyes and saw a normal looking man with black hair and animalistic yellow eyes.

"You're eyes still look feral…" the boy uttered.

"Well that can't be helped," the man told the boy as he knelt down so that he was level with the boy's face. "What's your name?"

"Denzel," the boy answered.

"Denzel huh, I'm Zack, "The man answered as he pointed to himself. "What are you doing out here Denzel?"

"I live here," Denzel replied sadly.

"But this place is dangerous," Zack told Denzel. "There are monsters everywhere."

Denzel started to cry, "I've got nowhere else to go…"

"Where's your family?" Zack asked.

"Gone…" Denzel replied forlornly as he looked up at Zack. "They were killed when Sector7 was blown up…"

"I see…" Zack responded a hint of sadness in his voice as he felt partly responsible for what happened. "I'm sorry to hear that…" Denzel started coughing up more black ooze and fell to the floor, "Denzel…hang in there..." Zack examined Denzel and saw black blotches on his arms and forehead. "I better get you some help…" Zack stated before he lifted Denzel up and helped him on to his bike before getting on himself. Zack then held Denzel's hand and Denzel squeezed back. "Hang on," Zack told Denzel as he started his bike and returned to Edge.

The two entered Edge and Zack helped Denzel into the Seventh Heaven where he and Aerith were also lodging. He saw Aerith, Tifa and Marlene cleaning up the bar for the night and Cloud who had finished his deliveries was also helping them out. Everyone stopped when they saw Zack and Denzel, "what happened?" Aerith asked as she, Tifa, Cloud and Marlene walked over to Zack and Denzel.

"This is Denzel," Zack answered as he pointed at the boy. "I found him in Midgar…"

"So…he was the one that was on the phone," Aerith replied.

"Huh…" Zack uttered as he looked at Aerith.

"I received a phone call from your phone but it wasn't you," Aerith answered.

Zack nodded and Marlene looked at the blotches on Denzel, "are you ok?" She asked Denzel, "You look sick."

"I don't know…" Denzel answered. "I don't feel well…"

"He's got these black blotches on his skin and he coughed up some black ooze," Zack told his friends. "I don't know what it is…"

Aerith and Tifa examined him, "Hi Denzel," Tifa spoke softly to Denzel. "I'm Tifa, and this is Aerith."

"Hi…" Denzel replied shyly.

Cloud walked over and knelt down in front of Denzel, "you're in safe hands now, me, Tifa, Aerith, Zack and Marlene will take care of you."

"Thank you," Denzel replied gratefully.

"I'll take you to bed," Aerith offered as she took hold of Denzel's hand and led him upstairs. She led him to a room with a comfortable looking bed. "I know it's not much but I hope it's ok."

"It's great…thanks…" Denzel replied as he smiled weakly.

"Don't worry, you'll be ok," Aerith reassured the boy as she examined him. "Get some rest, things will look better in the morning." Denzel nodded before took his shoes off and crawled into bed, he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Aerith sighed sympathetically as she walked out of the room and closed the door.

A little while later she entered her and Zack's room where Zack was waiting for her. "Well…" Zack asked as he stood up and walked over to her.

"I think I've seen some similar cases before," Aerith answered.

"What is it?" Zack asked.

"People have called it Geostigma," Aerith told Zack. "Symptoms include black blotches on the skin and coughing up a thick black ooze, but other than that I don't really know much. I'll have to look further into it, see if I can find a cure."

"Yeah," Zack agreed. "That kid has suffered enough."

"He's in good hands now, we'll all take care of him," Aerith told Zack. "Anyway, how are you?"

"I'm fine…I still get people freaking out when they see me in my drag human form but I guess that's to be expected." Zack told Aerith.

"So you're life isn't ruined then," Aerith replied jokingly.

"Nah…"Zack answered as he smiled at Aerith. "I'm learnin' to live with it, but with you by my side it'll be a lot easier to live with."

"We can start a new life now, free of Hojo, free of Shinra," Aerith stated happily. "Best of all, I can spend it all with you." Zack smiled as he and Aerith kissed passionately and fell back on to the bed as people in the streets went about their daily business knowing that another day was on the horizon. As for Zack thanks to his training and the support of his friends in particular Aerith he was learning to deal with his mutation and even saw it as an advantage in most cases. With two new businesses and Denzel joining their family there was never a dull moment in their lives but they were still able to enjoy the peace and quiet now that the Planet was no longer under threat and the heroes were able to make new lives for themselves.

* * *

**Well that's the final chapter of this story, I just hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Don't worry though as I will be typing up a sequel which will be an AU version of Advent Children as soon as I have a spare moment. Final Fantasy VII and all its characters and content belong to Square Enix.**


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